Rebellious Jabberwocky
by brianne135531
Summary: It's the 75th year of the Hunger Games, and there's a twist. Instead of choosing two Tributes from each District they're choosing them from the Capitol, and they've chosen 26 Avoxes to compete in the annual Hunger Games this year, including Penelope.
1. Chosen

**Okay this is the first chapter. I'll see how many reviews I get and if I get a few I'll continue to write, because what's the point in writing if nobody likes the story, right?****

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**Discover.**

The beating of my heart was the only thing I could hear at the time. Nothing else except the sound of twigs snapping underneath my bare feet as I ran through the forest with Gavin beside me.

We were running through the woods of District Twelve. Running for our lives.

We stole some grain from District 11 and only now have they figured it out and began to chase us.

The hovercraft was hovering overtop of us now. But I wasn't paying attention to it, only to what was in front of me, and beside me.

I was screaming scarcely through the woods for help. Any kind of help I could get I would take. My life couldn't end now, and neither could the life of my, now, fiancé; Gavin.

Suddenly Gavin tripped and landed face first into the soil beneath him.

"I can't continue, Penelope." He choked.

My lungs were just as rigid as his, but he began to choke up something fierce.

"We've been running for two days straight without water. I can't go any longer." He whispered.

My stomach dropped as I looked around for help.

There! Over there! I could see a girl and a boy, standing together looking right at us.

I screamed towards them and shouted, but they did nothing, they just stared at us, silently backing away.

Tears sprung from my eyes as I heard the humming of the hovercraft get louder.

I looked above the trees and there it was; the hovercraft.

I began taking deep breaths but keeping them in.

"GAVIN WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" I screamed.

"Go without me." He pleaded.

I shook my head as I kneeled down beside him. Just as a spear came whipping down from the sky, stabbing Gavin in his heart. Piercing his flesh, making him cough up blood.

"NO! DON'T LEAVE ME! GAVIN DO NOT LEAVE ME!" I shouted into his now blank eyes which were staring right towards the sunny, blue sky.

I grabbed his hand, tightly, shaking it trying to wake him up as if he was in a bad dream. But I knew he escaped it in time, whereas I remained.

His hand felt heavy against mine and it was losing the warmth that I was longing for.

But it was gone. And so was I.

The hovercraft was now lower, and I wouldn't move. I couldn't move.

I looked around the woods looking for that couple I just found, but they disappeared. Leaving me helpless.

I cried more into my red hair which was drooping around my neck. Until I felt a pair of gloved hands reach around my waist.

My head snapped around to find a man in a blue and white suit, taking me away. Taking me away into the hovercraft.

That was five years ago. The starting of a new beginning. A new life, a life nobody would ever want. A life somebody would want to throw away in a heartbeat. But of course if we killed ourselves they'd kill more, they'd kill our family and friends; everybody we Hunger Games were starting up again. This year would be the 75th year. Where I'd have to be a servant towards all the Tributes who were going to die in a few days. Everybody except one. But that wasn't the only part I hated. The part I hated most was now the speeches. The speeches that the mentors would say before the peacekeepers took the Tributes and shipped them to here; the Capitol.

Why do I hate the speeches? Because I have to see the one girl who could have saved my fiancé's life 5 years ago; Katniss. It's not that I hate Katniss, in fact I like her. I just don't like how whenever I look at her it brings back flashbacks. The flashbacks where I was running for my life and Gavin died. The flashbacks that I dreaded the most. The flashbacks that I try to hide.

"ALL AVOXES INTO THE TRAINING CENTER IMMEDIATELY." A voiced boomed over the intercom.

I looked at my white nursing shoes as I made my way down the narrow hallway that leaded towards the training center. Every year all the Avoxes would go into the Training Center to watch the Hunger Games. The only time we had a break, even though we all hated that we had to watch people die.

But today we were watching the draws of the new Tributes.

President Snow took the stand and began to introduce the show and the history. I zoned out on this part and waited until it was over.

"…now for the exciting news. I am well aware that it is not the Quart Quell but we've decided to try something new. To add a twist. This year for the Hunger Games we will not be choosing the Tributes from the Districts instead we will be choosing them from the _Capitol_-" He was interrupted by loud cheers. But he quickly hushed them away.

"We've chosen the Avoxes." He finished.

My heart skipped a beat as my stomach lunged towards the bottom and tied itself into a small knot.

"There are 26 Avoxes. Each we get a repaired tongue, and participate in the area wither they like it or not." He finished.

"If they survive the Games, they will get to go back home and live with their friends and family in fortune. A brand new house filled with money and food." He added.

Well at least I was getting my wish of dying.

I looked around the room to see all the Avoxes with their eyes attached on the television, each in shock.

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**Okay, so I just want to polish some things up for you guys. Yes the main character is the Avox Girl from the original series and in this story her name is Penelope Cordreau. And yes Penelope is going into the arena. Which I am very excited to write about!!!! Tell me what you thought about the story, please!**


	2. Mentor

Honestly, I wasn't going to continue this story but all the sudden I have the urge to write, so I'm writing the second chapter. I hope you like it and hopefully you guys share your thoughts. Enjoy!

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I was in a room that was empty and white. The walls were white along with the carpet. Even the bed I was attached on was white.

I was here to get my tongue repaired and I knew that.

I was scared and happy. Scared because in a couple of days I would die, but to be able to speak my mind at last was like watching fireworks for the first time. It was _exciting_.

A nurse walked through the door completely white. Her outfit was white, her hair was white, her nail polish was white, even her _eyes _were white.

"This won't hurt." She promised.

She walked up beside me and didn't wait for me to reply as she jabbed a needle into my arm, making me dizzy and weak, just until I fell into unconsciousness; into sleep.

When I woke up, my mouth felt raw, and my mouth was filled with saliva. But there was something else that felt different….what was it? My teeth? Or maybe it could be my gums? What could it possib- _a tongue! _Not just _a _tongue but _my own _tongue.

I moved it around my mouth even though it hurt. I could swallow the saliva in my mouth properly and feel the sharp edges of my teeth.

I looked around the room to see that I was lying on a new bed. A bed that was covered with blue sheets. The carpet was white but the walls were a baby blue.

I jumped up off the bed and walked towards the bathroom which was beside the door to my bedroom. I walked in and washed my hands and when I reached for a towel to dry my hands I found a letter.

Which read:

_Dear, Penelope. _

_I am writing to you to inform you that you are now a tribute of the 75th__ Hunger Games, which means you will be competing against 26 other tributes. Come downstairs for dinner so we can confirm everything. _

_-President Snow. _

I took in a deep breath as I played with my tongue some more. I got out from the bathroom and gathered myself up as I made my way downstairs, where a tall man with black long hair was waiting for me. Not President Snow.

"I'm Cory, you can follow me this way." He introduced.

He steadied my face for a while and turned away from me and began to walk down the wide hallway until finally we reached a small room with one table and a stage in front of it.

The table was full with all the other tributes.

I looked up at Cory who pointed towards the table.

"Sit over there with the others." He explained.

I nodded my head, without saying a word. I was afraid that if I spoke that my words wouldn't come out properly but in a deep noise like what I sounded like before.

I took a seat beside a boy with curly blond hair and the most amazing eyes which were a light blue; crystal blue.

He stuck out his tongue playfully and smiled.

I looked down the row of tributes to see they were all talking. Everybody except for me and the guy beside me.

"My name is Zaynn Blaxland." He introduced.

I looked down at my feet and then back at him confused.

"I thought the same thing. I thought that it would be hard to speak, but really it's easy, it's like my tongue went nowhere." He chuckled.

His voice was soft as velvet and deep. I felt as if I could trust him. But I wouldn't assume anything that quick.

I pressed my lips into a thin line and then opened my mouth, and before I could really do anything words were flying out of my mouth.

"I'm Penelope Cordreau." I confirmed.

I huge smiled lined my lips as I looked back up at Zaynn.

"I told you that you could do it." He grinned.

"So what are we doing here?" I asked.

"You don't know? We're here to pick our mentors. They'll pick our name out of a hat and whoever's first will get to pick they're mentor first. We aren't doing that whole district thing considering that there are 6 people here from District 9" He chuckled again.

"What District are you from?" I asked.

"District 7, you?"

"District 11." I answered.

I steadied Zaynn's face. He had to be around 18 at least.

"So, how old _are_ you?" I examined.

"Nineteen."

"They're still letting you compete?"

"I asked the same thing. But they don't care. There's a sixty year old who's competing this year for crying out loud," He complained.

He looked up at me with his lips in a tight line.

"So how old are you?" He questioned.

"Eighteen." I claimed.

"Okay, today we will be deciding the mentors for the tributes."

I turned around and saw Effie Trinket on the stage with an orange wig with a microphone to her lips.

"Now, lets introduce this years Mentors." She announced.

A red curtain behind her got pulled up and revealed 26 mentors. Mostly all of them I could remember.

She started from the left and went all the way to the end of the line.

"The first one is Peeta Mellark, then Katniss Everdeen, Katriana Lavard, Aaric Neval, Zulema Currelle…."

I immediately knew who I was going to pick,

Katniss Everdeen.

Not only to ask her why she didn't help me but to use her techniques. She has not only proven to be one of the best tributes last year but to be strict, and that's exactly what I need if I'm going to at least have a chance in this game.

Finally when Effie Trinket was finished she put our names in the famous Ball and got it rolling.

"Okay, the first Tribute to chose their mentor is….."

She stuck her hand in the ball and stared at the name and then smiled.

"_Penelope Cordreau_!" She buzzed.

My heart began to race and my breath quickened. I stood up from my chair and made my way to the stage beside Effie Trinket. I looked at the mentors in front of me but I immediately saw Katniss whose eyes locked on mine.

I gave her a brief smile and turned back to Effie who was holding the microphone right at my mouth.

"I'm going to have to chose Katniss Everdeen." I announced.

I looked at Katniss to see her chin up, walking towards me. With a little smile beginning at the edge of her lips.

Effie smiled brightly.

"Great choice. Now, you guys can go up to Penelope's room and introduce each other! Have fun!" She squealed.

I nodded my head as in good-bye and made my way to the elevator with Katniss in tow.

When we entered the elevator Katniss was the first one to speak.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized.

It was obvious to what she was apologizing to. It was obviously to Gavin and me.

"I forgive you, don't worry. I just want to know one thing," I began.

"Why didn't you help me?"


	3. Understanding

**I've decided to……*drum roll please*…..KEEP ON GOING! I'm going to continue to write this story and I hope that it'll draw more people in, the more they write it. I'm still trying to decide what the arena will look like. Ugh, it's driving me crazy!**

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**Understanding**

I turned around and looked up at Katniss to see her face sad. She actually did feel sorry for me.

"I didn't know what to do." She mumbled.

I looked down at my feet and then back up at her.

"Honestly?" I asked.

"I was confused. At the time my family was starving and I was already trespassing in the woods. If the peacekeepers saw me in the woods I would die, along with my family." She explained.

I sighed with relief. Letting go of the breath I'd been holding onto for so long. _At least she had a good reason. _I told myself.

I smiled at her and nodded my head in please and she smiled right back.

"Any ideas in what the areana will be this year?" I asked.

"Well the last few Games have been based in the cold. They'll probably make it hot, but I don't know." She sighed.

I shrugged my shoulders just as the elevator door dinged and slid open.

I guided Katniss to my room and she gasped when I opened my door.

"Didn't think you'd remember." I mumbled.

"What do you mean, I wouldn't remember?! This was _my _bedroom the last two Games." She gulped.

"All the Avoxes were assigned to the bedrooms they served last year." I shrugged.

I walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed, and Katniss sat on the couch against the wall, in front of the bed.

"So, do you know how to handle weapons?" She questioned.

_Yes of course I did_. I thought to myself. I never had a home. I basically didn't have a District that I belonged too. I was living in the woods, Gavin and I. But when we showed up in District 11 people got suspicious; they'd never seen us before. So, that's when we stole the grain and got caught later on.

I knew a lot of different climates. Each District had different temperatures, they varied. Warmest to coldest. District 7 was the warmest to me. I had to take off some extra clothes and I was still sweating. In the summer it felt like a desert.

"Yes." I replied.

Her face went questionable as she motioned her hand to tell me to continue.

"I'm very much like you Katniss. I lived in the woods. The boy you saw that day in the woods, his name is Gavin. It was Gavin and myself. We'd only stay a short time in Districts, careful not to get caught. Other then that we lived in the woods. I know how to use knifes, bows and arrows, spears and even an axe." I explained.

Katniss's face went in awe but she quickly recovered and tried to hide it.

"Why didn't you stay in one place?"

"We lived in District 13. When it blew up we had nowhere to go. All the other survivors lived underground, as you heard, but all those people living underground were sick. They had no food and they were filthy dirty. Half of them died from diseases while the other half died from starvation. But Gavin and I weren't going to let that happen, so we set off." I answered.

She shook her head and spoke quietly.

"What's your best weapon?"

"The axe and the knife." I replied just as softly.

"Anything else you're good at?"

"Tying knots." I said quickly.

She shot me a look then smiled widely.

"Can you climb trees?" She smiled.

I raised my eyebrow.

"If you can, try to sleep in them." She suggested.

I knew that I wouldn't though. I moved a lot in my sleep. I'd manage to fall out of the tree somehow and probably pass out, but I just nodded my head to her slowly and smiled back.

"So, are you good with berries and meat?"

"With meat yes, not so much with berries." I answered honestly.

I'd gotten sick a lot of times from eating the wrong berries. I'd been lucky that I stayed alive.

"That's okay, the important this is to stick with the meat. Meat fills you up a lot more then a few berries." She said strictly.

I nodded my head and listened to her more.

"Who was that boy you were talking with?"

"Who, Zaynn Blaxland?" I asked.

She nodded her head.

"Stick with him. He seems determined and trustworthy. If you want any ally, you want him." She scoffed.

"Everybody here is determined." I whispered.

"The way he looked at you, I can tell he wants to be your ally as well. Tomorrow training starts and I want you two to talk." She commanded.

"So what should I be training with tomorrow?" I asked.

"Go to the station that you're worst at. For instance, if you were bad at camouflaging go there first. Leave your best for last." She strategized.

Katniss stood up and gestured towards the door.

"You got to have some of the food here, it's amazing." She beamed.

This would be the first time that I would be eating real food in a long time. Before, without my tongue, we got fed by drinks. They'd give us a random liquid and we'd drink every last drop even though it tasted like mildew. It kept us stable enough to walk and clean and that's all that the Capitol really cared about.


	4. Ally

**So I'm very happy to announce that this story is getting more views each day, she's growing ****J. So I hope this chapter is good enough for you guys, tell me what you think. (By the way, I think I might have found out what the arena will look like!) **

**P.S. Sorry this chapter is kind of long :S**

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**Ally**

I was on my way to the training center, it was going to be the first day that training starts. The day that I'd have to become friends with Zaynn Blaxland.

When I pushed open the doors to the gym I saw Zaynn immediately, standing beside Peeta.

"Okay there he is. Go talk." Katniss pushed.

Katniss shoved me forward and I landed right in front of Zaynn and Peeta.

"I think Katniss wants you." I explained to Peeta.

Peeta shook his head and smiled, showing his gleaming white teeth as he made his way over to Katniss.

"So you picked Peeta?" I asked, trying to start a conversation.

"I had too, you picked Katniss." He smiled.

"You wanted Katniss?"

"No. I wanted you." He replied shortly. I could feel my eyebrows raise into a confusing look and he just smiled bigger.

"No, I meant that I wanted you as an ally. I knew that if you went with Katniss and I went with Peeta we'd be paired up together as allies." He explained seriously.

"Why me?" I sang.

"You seem helpful and determined." He described.

I nodded my head in agreement.

"So, what's your best weapon?" I asked.

"My hands." He analyzed.

"You're hands?" I repeated.

"Yeah, I never really used weapons. I know how to throw a punch or a kick. I've learned how to flip people, tie knots even go fishing. I'm also good with meats and berries." He clarified.

I shook my head. I believe him. His biceps were huge, _he _was huge!

I smiled and made my way over to the bow and arrows.

"We'll start here." I stated.

I grabbed a bow and arrow off the ground and placed it into my hands, feeling it's weight. I pulled back the string attached to the arrow. It was tighter then the other ones I've used.

I pointed it towards the bulls eye in front of me, and as if I was aiming horribly on purposefully, it hit the wall.

I sighed quietly and turned around to watch Zaynn. His crystal eyes focused on the one wooden bulls eye in front of him.

He stretched his arm back and just like that he got the arrow right in the middle.

_Crap. I'm working with a perfectionist._ I complained.

I looked at him dumbfounded as he turned around.

"I thought you said you were best with your _hands?! _Not the bow and arrow!" I remarked.

"The bow and arrow would be my second." He chuckled.

My cheeks grew red as I headed towards the spears.

_It wasn't quite a knife. _I thought to myself.

Zaynn picked one up and stared at it.

"A spear?" He displayed.

I nodded my head just as he threw the spear and it landed in the dummy's foot.

"That was good if you were aiming for the foot." I giggled.

Zaynn looked at me then smiled.

"I was aiming for the head."

I returned his smile as I picked up a spear, myself.

"First you have to weigh it, see how much it weighs?" I charged.

"Yes." He said, mimicking my move.

"Okay now, if you're aiming for the head you're going to point the top of the spear in the right direction. So if you want the head you're going to aim for the neck. You always want to point your spear a little bit lower then your goal." I taught.

He nodded his head and then steadied his spear so it was marked in front of the dummies' neck. He pulled back his arm and in one gesture the spear sliced the air and pierced the dummy's fake skin.

"That isn't so hard." He defined.

I giggled to myself and off we went, heading into the opposite direction going towards the berries.

It was dinner and I was sitting in a large room with one table in front of me, seated with four people: Zaynn, Peeta, Katniss and myself.

Peeta and Katniss were beside each other which meant I was sitting beside Zaynn.

"Okay, so how was the training?" Effie said from the stage.

We all turned our backs to watch her.

"I'm afraid to say I have some bad news. Today was your last and only chance to train. The reason for that was because since there is 26 of you guys the Capitol wants to start the Games early, which means that the showings will be placed tomorrow afternoon. Your make-up team will dress you up as unique and not according to your District. The day after tomorrow is when we do the interviews and then the day after _that _you guys will get put into the arena!" She beamed.

I sighed loudly knowing that tonight was when they were going to rate our skills and broadcast them to the Capitol _and _the Districts.

"Okay…so Penelope you've chosen knife throwing right?"

I nodded my head towards Katniss then looked at Zaynn.

"I've chosen bow and arrow." He justified with a smiled.

I returned his smile and looked at my food quickly to try and hide me being nervous.

Dinner was over and we were all waiting to be called to the Training Center. The first name would be called any second.

"Penelope Cordreau, can you please make your way to the gym please." The intercom boomed.

My face flushed red as I got up from my seat.

"Good luck." Zaynn whispered.

"You too." I returned his smile and then walked out the room with confidence.

When I entered the room I was somewhat happy to be first because if I was last I knew that the judges would be drunk.

I stood in the middle of the room completely clueless. There were no knives, only swords but that was okay, I had practice those too.

Swords were completely different. Knifes were daggers, which were meant for stabbing whereas a sword was long with a pointed end and one or two cutting edges.

I picked up the sword and walked up to the dummy.

"Are you happy that you aren't cleaning up after everybody this year?" A judge said mockingly.

But that wasn't what got me. What got me was that I knew him. He was the one who took me away from the forest of district twelve, the one who killed my fiancé, the one in the hovercraft.

I glared at him and dropped my sword. Walking over to the corner of the room I picked up a spear and without moving from my spot I pointed to spear close to the ceiling and then threw it. The spear made is halfway to the ceiling then began to go downwards towards the dummy. And just like that, as if I was back in the forest, the spear sliced the dummy's chest.

I walked up close to the dummy and looked back at the judges. All of them were whispering but one of them remained staring. The one I saw a few years back in the hovercraft.

Then for my final act I took the spear and cut off the dummy's mouth, turning it into an Avox and with that I dropped the spear and waited.

"You may leave now." The judge from the hovercraft said.

I nodded at him but he just kept glaring, but I smiled back to him cockily.


	5. Go Figure

**OKAY, SO I AM THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD BECAUSE I LOVE MY REVIEWS AND MY FANS J (By the way, you can write some suggestions or criticism, it only makes the writer and story better!) **

**I also have to agree that my last chapter was VERY confusing with what Effie was saying. Effie was explaining that since there are 26 Avoxes (more then usual) the Capitol wants to speed things up, so everything is going to be right after each other. *Sorry* tell me if you guys understand or are COMPLETELY lost. Thanks. **

**P.S. I'm going to skip the showing and just go straight to the interview. This chapter is based on the preparations before the interview. The next chapter will be the interview, I promise J **

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**Go Figure**

Katniss was beside me and we were walking downstairs to meet up with my make-up team, their names were Breigh, Rena, Fanette and Haelsel. All female. Haelsel would work on my make-up and hair whereas the other three would work on everything else, except my wardrobe which Haelsel would also work on.

When I reached the end of the hallway I was standing in front of a huge door, which was hot, bright, pink.

Before I could bang on the door it swung open to reveal a girl with dark tanned skin. Her black hair was placed into a huge bun on the top of her head. It was so big that I was curious to how she was still standing. Her violet eyes beamed wide as she braced me with a hug.

"You guys, she's _here_!" She squealed to behind.

Two other girls approached and they looked _exactly_ alike. One had bright blue hair whereas the other had bright pink hair. Both of their haircuts were short and cut into a bob.

Their eyes were the same shade, which was a light gray.

"I'm Rena and beside me is my twin sister, Fanette." The one with blue hair introduced.

"And _I'm _Breigh!" She said enthusiastically.

Breigh was going to annoy me. Her voice was too high and she was much too energetic.

The three of them pushed me into a green leather chair, which creaked underneath my weight.

I was seated in front of a huge mirror.

My hair was messy and all over the place, filled with knots. My eyes were the colour of indigo, a light purple/blue but they were hardly noticeable with the dark bags underneath my eyes. My skin was pale white.

"Oh honey, you're so beautiful!" Fanette complimented.

Rena moved towards and put something around my neck, making it feel more relaxed.

"Relax, Penelope, you can even go to sleep, if you wish." Fanette added.

I nodded my head and closed my eyes and went into a deep sleep.

I woke up to the burning of my legs.

I snapped my head down to see my legs were completely white, not one piece of hair remaining.

Then I felt a little tug on my hair.

I lifted my head surprised to see that Fanette, Rena and Breigh were gone. _I must've been deep into my sleep. _I thought to myself.

I looked into the mirror to see a petite blond curling my hair. My hair was _beautiful_. But not only was my hair beautiful but _I _was. My eyes no longer had dark bags, instead my dark black lashes were complimenting my eyes. My eyes were beaming.

"You're awake." The petite blond said from beside me.

She must be Haelsel.

"I was going to have to wake you soon anyways, your hair was almost finished and your wardrobe is all laid out for you," She smiled.

"My name is Haelsel." She came in front of me and took my hand into a firm grasp, her Eton blue eyes patronizing.

"I'm Penelope." I returned her smile.

I got up from my chair and stretched my back.

"Your outfit is over here."

She guided me over to the a rack where one dress was hanging still on a hanger.

The dress was _beautiful_. It was a gorgeous shade of gold, but that wasn't what caught my eye. What caught my attention was that it sparkled. There was shimmer all throughout the dress.

"Let's try it on." She grinned.

When I had my dress on, Haelsel's jaw dropped.

"_It's stunning!_" She cheered.

I turned around to face the mirror. Even _my _jaw dropped.

The dress was slimming. It was tight all the way to my waist, then it flowed down towards my toes. It brought out all my curves in the perfect places.

I smiled and hugged Haelsel.

"_All Tributes to the stage._" The intercom announced.

I straightened myself out and headed towards the door. But before I could touch the doorknob Haelsel pulled me back.

I looked at her confused.

"What?" I asked.

She brang me closer towards her. Then she spoke very soft and quiet..

"You _cannot_ repeat anything of what I am about to tell you. Promise?" She whispered.

I nodded my head and looked into her memorizing eyes.

"I'm not suppose to tell you- _heck_, I'm not even supposed to _know_! But I do. I know what they're doing for the arena." She sputtered.

My jaw fell open and I stared into her blank eyes.

"What is it?" I mumbled.

"A desert,"

"A _desert_? That's _it_?" I chuckled.

"Not even close. It's blazing hot for the entire day…until night. The night is so cold that half the tributes will probably die from hypothermia from _just _the first night." She explained.

"How cold?" I said shocked.

"Below 30°C." She said.

My throat closed and I felt as if I couldn't talk.

"Listen to me Penelope. I believe in you. I haven't felt so confident in ten years. This is why I'm telling you this. The number one thing you need to get is a coat. The coat will be inside a bright neon yellow bag. Everybody is going to be focused on weapons, but you my dear, you are going to run straight for the neon yellow bag, do you hear me?" She shook my shoulders.

And all I could manage was to shake my head.

_How did she know all of this_? I thought.

"Wait. What about Zaynn?" I gasped.

"Don't worry his make-up artist has already told him as well. There are only two coats in the arena. One in a yellow bag the other in an orange bag. This is important. Inside that bag there's a coat, some mittens, a hat, some pants, a pair of boots, a scarf…there's _everything _you need." She said.

She stood up straighter then headed towards the door.

"I'll be watching you." She gleamed.

Then she was out the door. Leaving me speechless.

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**I know you guys will hate me for asking this…but what's the host's name? The host for the interview?!**


	6. Lost Love

Reviews…reviews…reviews…wonderful reviews .

So….CELEBRATION WE REACHED 15 REVIEWS IN JUST 5 CHAPTERS WHICH MEANS….I'M POSTING THIS CHAPTER RIGHT NOW BECAUSE YOU GUYS DESERVE IT!

BTW I completely forgot that District 13 was blown up 75 YEARS AGO! So lets just pretend it was only a seven years ago. Is that okay with you guys?

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Lost Love

**I was in line behind the curtains waiting for Caesar Flickerman to call my name. But my mind was running on full blast. I kept replaying what Haelsel had just confirmed. **

_Do I really have a chance of winning this years' Hunger Games? _

"Penelope Cordreau." Caesar Flickerman announced.

I shook my head and made my way on the stage. When I looked at the audience I immediately noticed Haelsel and Katniss sitting by each other. Katniss was shooting a smile in my direction while Haelsel gave a confident nod and then stuck her chin out and tapped it, signalling me to keep my chin up. I nodded my head a little towards them then flashed a huge smile towards the audience.

"Come sit over here, Penelope." Caesar patted the seat across from him.

When I took my seat I folded my legs and the questions began coming.

"So how do you feel, finally being able to talk?" He asked.

"At first I didn't think I was able to, honestly." I blushed.

"What a cutie!," He announced.

I flashed another one of my award winning smiles towards the audience and then turned back towards Caesar.

"So what district do you come from?"

_Uh-oh, here it comes. _

"Originally, District 13."

I tried to smile but I could feel that it came out weak so I pressed my lips in a straight line.

"Whoa, District 13, that's a first in almost 10 years! Let's hear it for Penelope!" He cheered along with the rest of the crowd.

I looked at Katniss and she gave me a thumbs up telling me to continue.

"So how did you end up an Avox?"

_Man, he is _trying _to kill me_.

"I ran away from District 13 when it blew up and lived in the abandoned woods and stole some grain." I spoke loudly and confident, not showing any fear only determination.

"So where's your family, now-a-days?" He said, trying to change the topic.

"I have no clue. I guess they're dead." I said it just determined and looked right at the audience.

They were all in awe.

I nodded my head sophisticatedly towards the crowd and then looked at Caesar.

"So you left nobody behind?"

My throat closed, but I knew I would be able to speak loudly.

"My fiancé. But he died." It came out weak.

I knew it. I was weak and now the crowd was going to see it. I couldn't let them see it.

I smiled quickly flashing my white teeth towards him showing it was okay and for him to continue.

"It's a shame, you're such a pretty girl to lose." He finished.

"Well that's all we have time for. We'll be watching you in the arena good luck, Penelope." He guided.

I nodded my head and gave a wave to the crowd and I was gone. Leaving them behind. Never seeing them again until, maybe, the winnings.

I kept walking forwards but I wasn't paying attention to what was in front of me.

_BANG_.

I nearly fell to the ground until a felt a pair of warm hands catch me.

I looked up to see Zaynn was in front of me flashing a smile.

"You should really watch where you're going." He teased.

Whenever I saw Zaynn a smile always appeared on my face.

"See now _that's _what I like." He said.

"What?" I smiled.

"The way you smile towards me. It's real. Whereas on stage it's fake." He stated.

"It didn't look bad did it?" I said paranoid.

"No don't worry, it was a pretty good fake smile, better then I could've done." He chuckled.

"But your smile is always real." I argued.

"Not when I'm around you." He smiled one last time and left the room. Going to his room, is my guess.

"Hey, good job! You looked serious, that's good."

I turned around to face Haelsel who had a bright smile on her face.

She gave me a hug and walked to the elevator with me.

_I wonder what Zaynn's doing right now…taking a shower, writing, eating…-_

"He's probably on the roof."

I turned towards Haelsel confused.

"Oh come on, even _I _can notice young love." She chuckled.

I nodded my head and looked down at my feet as my cheeks grew red.

I wasn't in love…it was just friendship. That's all. I've only really known him for 2 days.

The elevator stopped and Haelsel got off waving me off.

"Have fun with Zaynn."

I didn't say anything as the door closed and brang me up onto the roof.

When the elevator door opened the warm out escape and I was surrounded with cold air, making my skin shiver.

"So you come up here too?"

I snapped around to find Zaynn. Just like she said.

"No. I came up here to look for you." I said.

He smile one of his breathtaking smiles and approached closer to me.

"Peeta told me it's the one place where we can have privacy." He explained.

I pressed my back on the cold railing behind me and Zaynn did the same. His body right next to mine. It felt right, I felt safe.

"No video cameras." I said with relief.

"Ah, you find it annoying too." He chuckled.

"Are you saying somebody enjoys it?"

"Aaron, the Avox with black hair, he's _adores _it." He confirmed.

"Tomorrow we get thrown into the arena. What are your thoughts?"

"That you and I get to those neon bags before somebody else does." He chuckled.

"What if there's only one left?" I asked.

Zaynn got off the rail and stood in front of me looking into my eyes.

"Then it's all yours." He said softly.

"What about you?" I asked childishly.

"Ladies come first." He smiled and brang his head in closer so close that our lips met. But I didn't pull away. I enjoyed his warm lips against mine. It felt right in so many ways. More right then whenever Gavin and I kissed.


	7. Arena

**23 flipp'n reviews in just 6 chapters, I think we need an around of applause!! I pretty sure I've replied to ALL of my beautiful reviews to thank you guys SOOO much. So, what did you guys get for Christmas, anything good? By the way, HAPPY NEW YEARS! Next chapter will be posted in 2010! **

**They go into the arena today. Beware ****J**

**Just because it took me a while to post this, I'm making sure I make it long. JUST for you!!**

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**Arena**

When I woke up my throat was dry and my eyes hurt.

I had absolutely no sleep last night. Just what Katniss had said, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to do good in the arena today! I was going to push myself to do _great_.

I rolled myself out of bed and when I did I was amazed to see Haelsel right beside me.

"Katniss was busy so she told me to help you out with everything." She chirped.

I cocked my head sideways.

"Like what? Getting dressed?" I chuckled.

"Exactly." She smiled.

I shook my head and made my way over to the couch where I found an outfit laying over top of the leather couch.

"You were right." I whispered.

The shoes were sneakers with fur lining inside. Made for running, but also to keep you warm.

There were thin spandex with another pair of pants to go over top of them which were made from cotton.

The shirt was the same. The first one was a thin spandex and then there was a thick cotton sweater to go over top.

Haelsel came closer into me.

"Half the contestants will strip there clothing right off as soon as they get the chance and leave it abandoned because it's too much weight to carry in the hot weather. But you have to make sure that you keep yours. Carry it with you if you have to. Just make sure they're with you." She whispered.

I nodded my head and got changed into my new outfit.

I looked down at my outfit that I was wearing and back up at Haelsel.

"It looks warm, but as soon as you feel that wind, you'll think differently." She braced me with a hug and walked me down the hallway and into a room.

"Walk down the ladder and stand on your platform, make sure to wait until they blow the whistle." She warned me.

Katniss came from behind her and gave me a big hug.

"You'll do great. I know you will." She smiled at me and waved me off.

When I got onto the ladder I froze in place.

_Great, now they get to stick some device into my arm. Yay. _I thought mockingly.

A lady came beside me and stuck the needle into my arm, inserting a cold, solid object underneath my skin. Making sure it doesn't come out.

When she was finished they unfroze me and I made my way over to my very own platform which was beside some brunette. She was very plump and young. Maybe 15?

I took in the view in front of me. It was similar to the one Katniss had.

There was a huge lake in front of us. It was a perfect circle. Surrounding the lake was a desert. Just sand, and cactuses, but beyond that, so far away that my eyes could hardly see it, was a forest, surrounding the outside.

Three rings: Water, Sand and then Trees; a forest.

I took a deep breath and that's when the heat hit me.

Immediately I started to sweat, but the spandex took care of that, making sure it didn't sink into the cotton.

It was the hottest weather I have ever experienced. It was worse then heat wave.

I was intensely thirsty, right off the bat.

The cannon went, signalling for us to go. But before I ran off my platform I striped off my cotton sweater and tied it tightly around my waist, stretching the arms.

I jumped into the water swimming fast.

I swam a lot when I was younger. It was something my sister and I would always do. We used to call ourselves rebels. But my sister stopped swimming with me when she realized that I was so much better then her. She hated losing.

I was almost at the end of the water with ten people ahead of me. Four of them were already on the sand, getting closer to the weapons.

When I reached the sand I continued to run, even though my breath was quickening.

I ran a lot, I was used to the feeling of my throat being rigid and my tongue feeling dry and that quick pang in my chest telling me to slow down. But now, I had to ignore it.

I could see the yellow bag instantly. When Haelsel said it was big, she meant it.

The two bags were right beside each other.

I was only a few feet close to them when somebody appeared in front of me snatching the orange one.

It was a man with black hair, who looked around 18 or 19.

Without thinking I lunged towards the man bringing him into the sand.

"Get _off _me!" He snarled.

"Not unless you give me _that_." I hissed.

I took one of my hands off his throat to throw a punch but he was too fast. He slammed me into the sand and was now over top of me with a knife tilted towards my neck.

_Dead already? Come on Penelope, get back up! _I screamed mentally.

Anger raised through my body, but before I could slam him backwards, a spear came slicing through the air and into his neck, making him cough up blood. Just like what happened with Katniss, he coughed up blood, spreading it all over my face.

I pushed him off of me. Remembering Gavin. That was what happened with Gavin.

"COME ON! GRAB THAT BAG AND LET'S GO!" Zaynn yelled from a distance.

I took the two bags and looked up at him. His hair was wet and he clothes were dripping. But, _boy_, did he look gorgeous.

I took the spear from the man's body and followed Zaynn towards the forest.

When I caught up to Zaynn I could see that he was carrying a bow with arrows along with a set of knives.

"What ever happened to the bags being first priority?" I snapped.

"Well…I knew you'd take care of that so I got us some weapons." He smiled towards me. Showing me his white teeth.

"Which one's mine?"

"Whichever you'd like,"

"Like I said, ladies first." He repeated.

I looked away from his smile and noticed that we were in the forest.

_Shade. _

"Oh no, Zaynn! This is where all the other Tributes will be heading for!" I exclaimed.

"Shh, quiet down," He hushed.

"Obviously. This is cooler then being surrounded with the sun." He corrected.

I looked up towards the sky to see the sun was going down and the sky was pinkish/orange. It was starting to cool off, but it was still hot.

When Haelsel told me it was going to be hot, I _never _imagined it to be _this _hot. Somebody could probably die in this kind of weather.

With thinking about the weather my throat went dry again. _I need water_. I thought.

I turned around to see Zaynn pulling out a water jug from the inside of his jacket.

"Way ahead of you." He chuckled.

I brang him in closer towards him and gave him a long kiss.

Making it interesting for him _and _the audience.

Zaynn didn't even pull away because I had dried up blood on my face.

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**Okay, I need the truth. Was that too jumbled? Too confusing? Not enough details? Is it going too fast, too slow? I need honesty, people! Review me what you think!! 'Cause I'm freaking out!!!!! **

**P.S. Thanks for reading J**


	8. Stabbed

**OKAY, OKAY, OKAY! I KNOW THAT CHAPTER WAS WAAAY TO RUSHED AND NOT ENOUGH DETAIL!!….forgive me?**

**I know I said that I would post my next chapter in 2010 but I was freaking out last night about my last chapter so I want to make a good chapter ****J**

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**Stabbed**

A course of shivers ran down my back.

It was beginning to get cold, and quickly.

I looked down at my feet which were beginning to lose their warmth, we needed to open those bags.

"Zaynn, come open your bag with me." I muttered.

Zaynn looked away from our fire and looked into my eyes, and if if he were mesmerized he came and stood by me, picking up his neon orange bag.

I retrieved mine from behind me and untied the bow that was holding together the bag.

The first thing I saw was a dark green heavy jacket, resembling as a parka.

It followed with a pair of dark green leather gloves with fur lining the inside and a hat that was made the same way, with the same colour.

I emptied the winter clothing on the ground and dug deeper into the bag looking for a pair of pants, but there were none.

Instead of a pair of pants I found something else. I found a sleeping bag which, of course, was dark green. Everything was made dark green so it would be easier to camouflage.

I turned around to see Zaynn and he was pulling out the exact same clothing, he also had a sleeping bag. But his were a different colour.

His were neon colours. Made to stick out.

His mouth was in a tight line. He was mad.

His jacket was neon pink, his hat was neon blue, his mittens were neon yellow and last but not least, his sleeping bag was a bright, neon orange.

I came in closer to him, and I could see he was already shivering. I was doing the same.

It was freezing, now.

He pulled me into a hug and held onto me tight.

"You can have mine. I don't mind." I whispered.

He pulled me away and looked into my eyes.

"Not a chance." He smiled.

He pulled on his jacket, gloves, hat and smiled right at me, trying to hide his frustration. But even I could see through his phoney smile.

"It'll be okay." I said.

I sat down next to the fire, but it was already going dim from the wind.

"It's beginning to snow. We better get some food before it's too cold." He mumbled.

But the truth was that we both knew it was too cold, and it would only get worse, but if we wanted to keep strong in this game we'd need food, especially meat.

I nodded my head and went beside him, intertwining our hands as I lead the way.

"How do you know where you're going?" He mumbled as he leaning in closer to me, trying to get some of my body heat.

I chuckled and looked down towards the ground where there was thick snow forming all around us, but you could still see little footprints from the animals.

"Just following the animal's footprints."

He nodded his head and looked away embarrassed.

_Crunch, crunch. _

I stopped walking and Zaynn did the same, questioning my move. But then he heard it.

Footsteps pressing into the snow.

It was much to loud for an animal to make. Animals were too light-weighted to make such noise.

I turned around and saw a girl with blond hair facing us, a knife in her hand facing Zaynn.

Before I could stop the girl, her hand extended and the knife went loose and into the air.

My mind went blurry.

_What do I do?! _I thought panicky to myself. _Push him out of the way, you idiot! _Something inside me screamed.

I pushed Zaynn out of the way, but it was too late. The knife stabbed Zaynn into the arm.

Zaynn's hand flung towards his arm and he stared at the blond girl.

The girl was around my age, her eyes were hazel.

"You _bitch_." He mumbled.

The girl's hand flung back into her pant pocket and retrieved another knife, but she was too slow.

I had my bow arrow in my hands all loaded.

I would make Katniss proud.

I pointed the arrow at her chest and my fingers loosened, letting the arrow fly through the cold air, and land in her chest, directly in her heart.

I grimaced as she fell into the, now, red snow. Her eyes immediately flung open and her breath slowed.

Quickly the cannon went.

We've heard the cannon go off five times already. Everybody expected there would be at least ten so far, because usually half the contestants die the first day.

I walked up the girl and smiled as I took hold of my spear and ripped it out.

"_Bitch_." I whispered.

Before I walked away, I ripped a piece of her cotton shirt off, making it long enough to wrap around Zaynn's arm.

When Zaynn was finally settled on a rock, I inspected the wound on his arm. It was big, but it wasn't deep, which was good because I was no paramedic.

I wrapped around my hand-made wrap tightly around his wound, as he flinched.

"I'm sorry." I said softly.

"Shh." He hushed.

I sat dumbfounded, waiting for him to say something more. But instead of talking he pulled out a knife and threw it into the air.

I snapped my head around to see what he threw it at. And there sitting in the snow was a helpless rabbit.

"You better gut that." He smiled.


	9. Gone

Okay…31 reviews J and I _love_ them! And don't worry, I don't mind criticism…no writer is perfect.

Somebody pointed this out to me, but I forgot to mention it…I guess I sort of thought it was obvious, but maybe I'm just crazy. But, in this story Catching Fire never happened. Nothing with Katniss or Peeta getting thrown into the arena for a second time, nothing. Is that okay? Or do you want me to organize this story more so it makes sense? Anyways, Happy New Years and tell me what you think! J

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Gone

**I grabbed the rabbit by it's hind legs. **

"**I don't mean to be snoopy or anything but…it's to do with what you said with Caesar." He announced. **

**I looked up at Zaynn to see he was already looking at me. **

**I put my lips in a tight line as I nodded towards his knife. **

**He passed me the knife and then just continued to look at me waiting for an answer. **

"**What about it?" I spoke softly, as I sliced the rabbit's stomach. **

"**It's about your parents. How do not know that they're out there, right now? Watching your every move." **

**I stopped my knife and stared at the rabbit, thinking how it might've had a family to tend to. **

"**They're not. I don't know **_**where **_**they are, but they're dead." I whispered, holding back my tears. **

"**You don't even know that, I mean, didn't you leave them alive?"**

"**They were weak and ill. They could hardly get around." I choked. **

"**So you abandoned your sister, father and mother because they were **_**too ill**_**?" He asked. **

"**You don't understand. I left for **_**my **_**health. If I stayed there I would die just like them." I whispered the last part, knowing how harsh it sounded. **

**I was selfish, arrogant, rude, self-centered, greedy and egocentric! **

"**It's not your fault." He said in a soothing voice.**

"**It is. I could've helped them. They could still be alive, but because of me I ended their lives. And my **_**sister's**_**! She was only eight when I left. She could've had a **_**wonderful **_**future." I bowed my head and stopped holding my tears back. **

**I was sobbing. **

**It was the first time, that I actually let tears out in such a long time. It felt **_**nice**_**. But…I don't want the audience to think I was weak. **

"**They're probably alive." He said with a smile. **

"**You don't know what they **_**looked **_**like when I left. It was **_**horrible**_**. The memory still haunts me!" I mumbled under my tears. **

**The picture whipped into my head, and there I was five years back. **

**I was thirteen and we were living underground. It had been two years since the explosion, but people were still ill. **

**Everybody who was still alive was in the cellar, all spread out coughing and gagging. **

**My mom was laying against the wall, sharing a warn-out blanket with my sister and father. **

"**I found some bread, mom!" I cheered holding the stale, cold bread in my hand. **

"**Oh, honey, w-where d-did you find t-that?" She said, coughing between every word while stuttering from being so cold. **

**I put my wrist to her forehead. **

"**Oh mom, your forehead is **_**boiling**_**! How's your arm?" I inspected. **

**I took her arm and stared at it with disbelief. **

**Her whole arm was burned, and it was **_**bad**_**. I'm talking 3rd**** degree burn all over her arm. And with all the dirt floating around in this filthy room and all the diseases I wasn't surprised to see that she had blood poisoning. **

**I sucked in a breath and went to my dad. **

**His face was completely white and his eyes were half opened and they were blood shot. He said he was having trouble seeing. But that wasn't what I was worried about. **

**Both of his legs were broken and his arms were all infected by the burn as well. **

**I closed my eyes and heard my sister coughing fiercely. **

**When I slid over to her she was asleep, snoring lightly. They say that when a young child is asleep they're to look precious, but not Amelia, my sister. **

**She was shivering brutally. Her teeth were clattering and her face was as pale as a piece of paper. **

**I put my wrist to her forehead, and she was worse then my mother. She was beyond anything that I've ever witnessed. **

**Her forehead was lined with beads of sweat pouring down her face. It looked as if she had just come out of the lake. She was drenched. **

**I shook my head and I was out of the memory, back into the present with Zaynn beside me holding a box with a parachute attached. **

"**I believe this belongs to you." He passed me the box and I ripped off the parachute. **

**When I opened the box, tears sprung from my eyes all over again. **

**It was a ring. **

**A ring with four colours: yellow, red, purple and green. It was our family ring. But it wasn't our birthstones it was our favorite colour.**

**Before the explosion my mom had walked over to the jewellery shop and came home with four rings. One for each member of the family. **

**Back then we had tons of money. Of course we never thought anything would happen, where we'd actually need the money. **

**Yellow was my father's favorite colour. Red was my mother's, purple was Amelia's and green was mine. **

**This ring wasn't mine though. I had lost mine in the forest at some time, but I knew why they gave this ring to me. **

**It's my mother's. **

**My mother sent it down to me to tell me everybody was all right; they were alive.**

**I looked down at the ring to see the purple gem was gone along with the green one. **

**I stared at it in disbelief. **

**It wasn't like my mother to break something like this. Something so memorable. My mother was the neat type. One that was so specific, that it drove us kids, crazy. My mom would **_**never **_**lose our gems. And why would Katniss send me a ring with our family colours…just to tell me I had a family that was alive? No. It must mean something more. **

**And I'd just have to figure that out on my own. **


	10. Found Again

**Okay, well lets all cheer for my WONDERFUL reviews!! I love it SO MUCH when you guys review, it means the world to me, even if it is criticism! I hope you guys review today, as well!, Thanks a lot for not losing hope with TRB ****J**

**PLEASE TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!! Pretty please with a cherry on top?**

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**Found Again. **

"Do you want to share with me, what you got?" Zaynn shivered.

I stared at my ring and then back up at Zaynn with a frown.

"It's not good?" He mumbled.

"It is. It's a sign that my parents are alive but something's wrong with my sister." I muttered.

Zaynn came closer to me, about to brace me with a hug, but I scattered off the rock I was sitting on and grabbed the rabbit, pulling the legs over my shoulder.

"We should eat this quick before it goes bad." I said with my back towards him, as I began the way back to the campfire.

_**BAM, BAM! **_

I snapped around and looked at Zaynn.

"Who do think that was?" I asked, questioning the cannon.

"I have no clue, I've never really met any of the Avoxes. It's hard to meet them when there are Soldiers surrounding the Capitol watching your every move." He chuckled.

I nodded my head in agreement.

"I've never met any Avoxes except for an acceptation when there was another Avox helping me out with one of the Tributes I was tending to." I explained, returning his smile.

Suddenly Zaynn stopped in place, sticking his ear out.

"Come _on, _I heard _nothing_." I examined.

"Shh." He hushed.

I rolled my eyes and stood in my place straining my ear, hoping to hear what he does.

"_Move!_" Zaynn commanded.

Without thinking, I turned my head to look at what was the commotion, but it was too late.

A small girl was standing with a bow and arrow pointed directly at me.

She looked so_ familiar_.

Her hair was the same colour as mine; red, with indigo/blue eyes to match.

She looked exactly like I had when I was thirteen…

_AMELIA! _

My sister's name was screaming inside my head. I wanted to yell at her, be mad! But at the same time awe washed over me. How is she an Avox? How is she still _alive_?

She shot the bow and arrow but I moved quickly enough that it only sliced my shoulder, instead of my back.

My hand, automatically reached for my shoulder.

Blood, lots of blood.

I looked back at Amelia who just stood there looking at me, like she remembered me.

_How could she not tell it's _me?! I screamed at myself.

Zaynn drew a knife from his pocket.

"You're going to _pay_-"

"_NO! ZAYNN DON'T! THAT'S AMELIA!_" I screamed.

Zaynn looked at Amelia and then back at me.

He nodded his head and put away his knife, returning it safely into his pant leg.

I looked back at Amelia, who's eyes were filled with astonishment along with _hope _and I could tell that she remembered me.

She dropped her bow and arrow and came running over towards me, like when we were little kids.

"Oh, Penelope, I'm so _sorry._" She cried into my shoulder sobbing loudly, making it almost impossible to comprehend.

I returned her hug just as tightly, even though my shoulder was in agonizing pain.

"I didn't know it was you! _Please _forgive me!" She cried loudly.

I broke our hug and looked her in the face.

She was _beautiful_, more beautiful then I _ever _was at the age of 13.

She wasn't only sad but she was _scared_ and I knew why. I mean, what thirteen year-old girl wouldn't be afraid to die?

"Don't say that." I whispered.

She looked at me for a moment and stopped sobbing, signalling for me to continue.

"I'm the one who's sorry. I left you when you needed me most. I was _selfish_, Amelia. So, _I'm _sorry." I said, choking on my tears.

"It's okay. I got better in a week after you left." She said, through her chattering teeth.

_She must be freezing! _

I unzipped my coat, and I watched her face go uneasy, wanting me to keep the jacket on but at the same time, wanting it for herself.

As soon as I passed her my coat, Zaynn's was in my face.

"Oh no," I declined.

"Come on, _please_. Take it for me." He shot me his puppy dog eyes so I sighed and took his jacket, slipping it on.

"That really points you out. That's how I found you guys." Amelia declared, pointing at the neon jacket.

"So, who are you?" Amelia pointed towards Zaynn.

"Oh _right_, sorry! This is Zaynn. Zaynn this is Amelia, my sister, as you know." I introduced.

They shook hands.

"So you guys are allies?" She questioned.

"A bit more then that…but you got the right idea." He smiled at me, and I returned it.

I got up from the ground and straightened out my legs, the pain from my shoulder shooting out like fireworks.

"Let's go to our campsite and cook this rabbit." I gleamed, showing off our rabbit.

"Um, I have some meat too." Amelia blushed, as she retrieved her back pack and unbuckled the buckles, reaching in.

And out came _seven _pinemartens and one rabbit.

"How did you..-" Zaynn began,

"I have practice." She smiled.

I flashed her a smile and we began our way back to our campsite.

"So…Penelope how come you're an Avox?" Amelia asked, politely.

"I stole some grain from a district and because I was living off of different districts," I said dully.

"You?"

"Well after I got better I went into the forest to get some herbs, you know, to make mom and dad better, but when I was out looking for some I spotted your family ring! So…I quickly ran home and delivered the herbs and then went back into the woods. I got caught in District 3 when I killed somebody by giving them bad food." She explained.

Then very quiet and softly she whispered,

"I missed you, Penelope."


	11. New Rules

**Sorry it took me so long to post....the reason is....I FOUND A BETA! Her PenName is Moonlit Ebony...(she works miracles.) It took so long because we had to discuss things and discover how to work the DocX...*hehe*. Anyways, SAY HELLO TO MOONLIT EBONY! And tell me what you think!**

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We got to our campsite and made a fire immediately.

"So . . . what are the sleeping arrangements?" Amelia chirped.

I smiled as she slid closer beside me, snuggling into me, as the fire's warmth sank into our skin.

"Well we have to do something with Zaynn's sleeping bag, cover it with dirt and leaves. But, you can either sleep alone, with Zaynn or with me." I explained.

Amelia looked away from the fire and across to Zaynn, with an apologetic look and said, "Would you mind-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted. "You haven't seen your sister in a while, I think you have the right to share a sleeping bag for one night," he chuckled.

He got up from the snowy ground and stretched his legs, looking into the sky. I followed his gaze and found a screen glowing up in the sky.

It was a new screen from the previous Games. This screen showed the names underneath the picture.

The first picture was a man named Alex, the man I fought this morning, in the desert.

I took a deep breath as seven faces scanned by, showing the pictures of each dead Tribute, revealing each of their names.

I looked at Amelia who was still watching the screen.

My heart flooded with warmth. Who knew that having somebody so faraway from you could appear so close to you, at just the wrong time? But I didn't mind it. I'm going to protect her so that she can live through this game. So my mother and father can re-unite with her, like I did.

Finally she met my gaze and smiled. "That could have been you. If realization didn't hit me, right then, you'd be dead," she said it in an apologetic way.

I nodded my head in reply as I got up from the snow, making my way to the sleeping bags.

"We should get some sleep," I claimed, picking up Zaynn's sleeping bag.

"I need to dig up some snow," I whispered to myself.

I dropped the sleeping bag and started to push away the snow until dirt appeared.

"You don't use that, you use mud," Zaynn explained from the fire.

"Do you see mud?" Amelia snorted.

"Yes, actually. There's some mud over here by the fire. Since all the snow melted from the fire, the water sank into the dirt, creating _mud_." He smirked.

"Smart ass," Amelia mumbled under her breath.

I chuckled silently and passed the sleeping bag over towards Zaynn.

"We should put out the fire, so nobody can follow the smoke," Amelia hesitated.

We all agreed and put out the fire hurriedly.

I took off my jacket and passed it towards Zaynn.

"I'll have double the body heat, it'll be okay. Just accept it." I shook it in his direction.

Instead of grabbing the sleeping bag he took my hand and pulled me towards him, so I was right close to him.

He pressed his lips against mine.

When he broke our kiss he pulled his lips towards my ear.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered, letting go of me.

I looked at Amelia, to find her already half asleep inside the sleeping bag. I chuckled quietly to myself as I slid in beside her, signalling Zaynn to lie beside me.

He pushed his muddy sleeping bag next to me and snuggled against me.

"Should we cover ourselves with snow, to blend in?" Zaynn whispered.

I flopped onto my other side, so I was facing Zaynn and my back was towards Amelia, who was asleep.

"I wouldn't bother. It would get us wet and cold and besides all the other tributes are probably too cold to go anywhere," I replied.

He nodded his head and pushed his sleeping bag even closer to me.

"That rabbit was good. It's better than any kind of meat that I've ever eaten," he chuckled.

"Thanks. Now get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day," I hushed.

He took his hand out of his sleeping bag and caressed my cheek.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he whispered sweetly.

"I know," I said softly.

I closed my eyes and laid quietly on my back, feeling the cold air sting my nose, hearing the light snores from my long-lost sister and the breaths of Zaynn.

Quickly I slipped into a dreamless sleep, feeling safe for the first time in a long while, despite the fact that I was in a blood fest.

I awoke damp. Sweat was running down my forehead and _everywhere _else. I was _soaked _with it.

It was _that _warm.

My sleeping bag was empty.

I sat up from my sleeping bag, and listened to the sound of birds chirping and of Zaynn snoring. I looked down beside me to see him sleeping noisily and chuckled quietly.

_POW POW! _

It wasn't the canon.

It was an explosion, and it was _real _close.

_BAM, BAM, BAM._

_That _was the canon, which went off three times. Which means three people were just killed and they were _close_.

Panic began to set in and I shoved Zaynn hard, pushing him into the tree. He jumped up on red alert, sweating just as hard as I was.

"What was _that _for?!" he said anxiously.

"An explosion went off, I heard it. I also heard the canon go off three times. We need to get out of here, before they find _us_!" I snapped.

He jumped out of bed, taking off his muddy jacket and stuffing it into a backpack.

"Where are the weapons?" I asked nervously.

"They're in the kit bag. Here take the knives, I'll take the bow and arrows this time." He passed me the knives and packed up the sleeping bags, somehow squeezing them into the other bag.

I put the backpack on my back and loaded the knives in my pocket where it would be easiest to take out, just in case.

"Where's Amelia?" Zaynn asked as we began to run.

"I don't know, we'll find her on the way, I guess. I just hope she's safe," I said, even though I had no idea.

Just as we began running full speed I tripped over a root, _just in time_. An axe came flying over my head and stabbed the ground a few feet in front of me.

Zaynn looked behind him to see four men a few feet away from me, all armed. All of them had one thing in common, they were _huge_. Which only meant one thing:

They were the Careers.

I quickly jumped up and jerked out my knives, throwing one towards a blond who was fixated on Zaynn.

It caught him in the stomach and in an instant he was on the ground, curling up on the dirt choking up blood.

I looked over at Zaynn to see he had his bow and arrow aimed for an albino.

He was the leader of the pack. You could tell that because he was the biggest and in the center.

Everybody was focused on Zaynn… but _why_? Did they not notice me?

I picked out another knife and stabbed a dark haired man and just like the blond he went down instantly.

The albino had a spear in his hand, and he was stretching back his hand just as a voice flickered through the arena.

"For the _second_ time in the arena we are allowing two Tributes to win."


	12. Over

**I had to post this chapter, even though my beta didn't correct it, I hope you forgive me Moonlit? :)****. Tell me if I did a good job? **

**This chapter **_**is **_**sad, and I'm sorry. But you guys knew it was going to happen sometime… **

**Btw, I miss all of my wonderful reviews :( ...I was wondering if there was somehow I could get them back?**

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**Over**

The albino's eyes flickered towards his last component. His eyes full of despair and anger.

He raised his bow back up towards Zaynn, pointing it towards his chest.

Just as he began to extend his arm, I shot a knife at it, making him drop the bow and arrow completely.

He grabbed his arm with his other hand and put pressure onto his new wound.

The blood was going _everywhere_.

The albino's pink eyes glared at me.

My brain was on red alert, telling me that danger was near and to run. Take flight over fight.

I smirked at the albino as I reached my hand into my pocket. Looking for an extra knife.

But it was empty.

I looked nervously at Zaynn, who's eyes met mine eagerly.

He slid off his back pack and quickly rummaged through it, trying to get to a weapon quick enough.

But it too, was empty.

My mouth filled with saliva as my mind went foggy.

I quickly turned my attention to the one with an egg shaped head. His head, completely bald.

Before I could get my mind to re-adjust Egg Head was charging at me, his knife pointing deliberately towards my arm.

_But why my arm? _

My body went numb. It had no idea what to do. So I stood there with Egg Head running towards, trying to move my legs.

"_MOVE, PENELOPE!_" Zaynn yelled.

I snapped my head over to Zaynn to see he was coursing towards me, single handed.

But it was too late, Egg Head was in front of me.

And what he did next, was unbelievable.

He cut my bag away from my shoulder and kept running. Running into the forest without his leader.

My legs unfroze and turned into jelly, making me fall.

The albino approached me with his gaze strong on my eyes, giving me an evil smirk.

I scanned the ground looking for something to help me. Anything.

And just as if my day turned around, I found the axe.

I snatched the axe from the ground and threw it directly in front of me, without looking.

The albino fell to the ground with a loud thud. His head falling on my lap.

_BAM! _

The canon went off once.

I shoved his face off my lap and went towards the others, both of them curled into a ball with a pool of blood surrounding each one.

I took the axe and slammed it into each of their backs, killing them.

_BAM, BAM! _

The canon went twice.

"We should go, the hovercraft should be arriving at any second." I mumbled with my back towards Zaynn.

_10 tributes, killed already, _I hissed at myself. _And we killed half of them_. _Should I be proud_? I questioned.

_Would my mother proud, would my father? _I shook my head silently. _I should stop thinking about this. There's no time to get emotional in a time like this. _I agreed with myself.

Once we walked a few miles I sat down on a rock, my tongue feeling dry.

I slid over so Zaynn could sit beside me, but he didn't. He stood still, and stiff.

I patted the seat beside me but he just continued to stare at the open air in front of him.

"You're the one who's going to have to choose." He whispered, switching his gaze towards me.

I raised an eyebrow as I stood up from the rock, walking towards him, but he just walked away farther.

"What are you talking about?" I asked softly.

"The new rule, Penelope," He looked into my eyes sweetly and then took a step closer towards me. "You have to choose between me or your sister." He said, taking a big breath.

"You can't believe _them! _You saw what they did the last time they said that! It was rubbish!" I mocked.

"_BUT YOU DON'T KNOW THAT_!" He said, raising his voice.

He took a step forward, so that he was in front of me, over towering me, making me look up.

"Who is it, Penelope." He whispered, tilting my chin up.

I took my chin out of his grip and looked at the rock beside me.

"Don't make me answer this." I said with blurry eyes.

He took a step back and let out a deep breath.

"It's her." He whispered.

A tear fell down my cheek as I looked back up at him, with my sight fuzzy.

"I'm sorry." I murmured.

He looked at me one last time and I met his eyes.

"Good-luck in the game." He said, turning around.

"What? No! _DON'T LEAVE ME, LIKE THIS!_" I sobbed.

He kept walking, his eyes attached to the open air in front of him, once again.

My knees went to jelly, and I fell on the rock, letting it support me.

And then, very quietly somebody approached from the bushes, a petit figure with red hair and indigo eyes.

She sat down on the rock beside me and pulled me into a hug, enveloping me with her small figure.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, tears running down her cheeks.

But it wasn't her fault, it was _mine_. It was my stupid fault that I let us get too close, too _emotional_. It was my fault that I fell in love, with somebody _other _then Gavin.

And once again, I get left broken hearted.


	13. Jabberwocky

**Okay Moonlit if you're reading this then I'm sorry once again. I've been trying to PM you but either you aren't replying or it just isn't working? Try to PM me.**

**This one is going to my Hunger Game bud, Kaitlin the future fox face. J**

**BTW, I have no idea what a jabberwocky is, I just kind of made it up, even though I do think that it's a mythical creature…but in this story it's something else.**

**P.S. I LOVED the reviews, and hope to get just as much!**

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**Jabberwocky**

I sit beside the fire, folding myself into the smallest size possible, trying to escape this mess I've started.

I already miss him and it's only been a few hours.

"Do you want anymore rabbit?" Amelia asked from across the fire.

The snow was falling down hard, just as chills ran up my spine.

I shook my head and stood up, stretching my legs.

"Come on, you need to talk to me." She said softly.

I ignored her comment and scanned the area, looking to see if it was good enough to stay the night.

"You're kidding, right?" She hissed. "We can't _stay _here, we'll freeze."

"Yeah but it's the only place we've got-" I stopped myself as I stared at a tree, looking at it in disbelief.

There, hanging in the tree were two coats, two hats, four mittens and one sleeping bag.

On the tree _Z.B _was carved into the wood, with ten knives circling his initials.

I looked at the tree in awe as I walked up to it, but just as I did so I heard an eerie voice, almost high enough to be considered a screech.

It was coming from the tree.

I looked up into the tree to see it was clear. Clear from everything except for pine needles and one lonely blue bird.

I looked at the bird in awe, but at the same time it reminded me of something. Something that I saw before.

Once again it made a screechy noise.

I took a step forward and quickly jumped towards the winter gear, snatching it from the branches.

I jumped back as soon as I had to clothes in my hand and inspected the bird closer.

He was completely blue except for a little heart on his forehead, which was yellow.

_Why should I know what this bird is? _

I turned away from the bird, looking back at it as it made the annoying screech once more.

When I got back to the campsite I found Amelia still eating her rabbit, gnawing at the end of the rabbits' foot.

She slowly looked at me, but as soon as she saw the florescent jacket she came over running.

"_YOU FOUND THEM_!" She chirped.

I nodded my head as I passed her the dark green jacket, just as I slid on my neon one.

I rolled out the one sleeping bag deeper into the woods.

Amelia slid inside the sleeping bag.

Her eyes focused on the sky in front of her, looking at the screen as 16 faces flashed before our eyes, each revealing their names.

I took in another breath, being happy that Zaynn wasn't in one of those pictures.

I looked beside me to see that Amelia was already fast asleep.

I closed my eyes softly, waiting for sleep to pull me under.

When I awoke, wind came slapping my face.

I quickly pulled on my jacket, looking up at the night sky. It was the exact same that I had just left it, only a few hours ago.

My tongue felt dry and rough against my teeth.

I slid out of the sleeping bag quietly and swiftly, trying not to wake Amelia.

As soon as I was free, I slipped on my boots and went for a walk. A walk back towards the tree with Zaynn's initials imprinted on it.

As I stared at the tree, I heard the screech once more; startling me.

I looked at the bird and waited for it to screech once more, and just as it did, I listened. I listened to what it was screeching.

In a very high voice I could hear the bird talk, almost chirp.

"He's waiiiiiiting." It sounded like.

And in an instant I remembered what this bird was.

It was a jabberwocky.

Not a jabber jay and not a mocking jay.

A jabberwocky.

My dad had once told me about these guys. Most people thought of them as a joke. Not real. But my dad believed in them. He told me that he saw one once. He told me that jabberwockies are very rare, only a few of them are left, and they have a gift.

The gift to talk.

But they only talk to ones they want to talk to, and the person they are talking to has to believe in them first; they have to believe in they exist before they can understand.

Once again the bird chirped.

"He's waiiiiiiting."

I looked at the bird with confused eyes.

"Who's waiting?" I asked, a little bit embarrassed that I was talking to a bird.

"_._"

It always lengthened out the last word.

"Zaynn Blaxland?" I asked confused.

The bird stared at me, his small eyes inviting.

"Yes." It replied simply, with no exaggeration.

"Well…? Where?"

"Hoooooome." It cooed.

"Home…?" I whispered to myself.

And then it kicked in.

The bird meant our old hideout.

I chuckled quietly and turned around and began to lead the way by myself, towards Zaynn.

Then one last screech.

"Waiiiiiiit"

I turned around to see the bird flying after me, it's wings twice the size then his little body.

The bird landed on my shoulder lightly.

I smiled to myself.

_I have a new ally_. I snickered to myself.

As soon as I entered our old hideout I spotted Zaynn right away. He was leaning against a tree, both hands in his pants, shivering.

When he saw me, he didn't smile. His face was serious.

He looked over each shoulder, making sure nobody was around. And then very quietly he walked up towards me.

"So you can understand him too?" He whispered, pointing towards the bird with his eyes.

"Yeah, it's a jabberwocky." I smiled.

He didn't return the smile.

"I know. Now listen up, I don't have much time. I have a plan, Penelope, a plan that I need you to help with." He whispered, still looking over both shoulders.

"To let this plan work I need you and Amelia to win this game." He hissed.

"What plan?" I whispered just as quiet.

"I can't tell you yet," He started. "But I need you to keep your distance away from me, can you handle that?"

"What, why?!" I snapped.

"People are looking for you Penelope. They were after me at first, but now they're after you. They want to kill you. _Everybody_. I'm trying to keep them away, but it's like a moth with fire; impossible to keep away." He started speaking faster.

"Why do they want me?" I seethed.

"Because you're the biggest '_threat_'" He claimed.

I pointed towards myself with big eyes.

"Yes, _you_. You've killed a lot of people in the arena so far, they're just afraid it might be them next."

"And how are you safe?" I barked.

"_SHH!_" He hushed. "I'm safe because I said I've team up with them. I'm _pretending, _Penelope. I need to get them _away _from you. We'll communicate by this bird. The bird will deliver our messages. Now go before they find you." He condemned.

I nodded my head and turned around beginning to walk away, but Zaynn grasped onto my elbow pulling me back, and pushing his lips against mine.

"Don't worry I'll find a way." He whispered sweetly in my ear.


	14. Hurt

**So we've finally reached 40 reviews *W00T W00T*! It's weird how in the beginning of RJ, I was happy if I received 10 reviews, but now I've gotten more. Which makes me _beyond _happy.**

**Tell me what you think about this chapter, and if it was good enough and I'm btw, I'm sorry that it took me a while to post this one, I was out of ideas and I had a lot of editing to do....ALL BY MYSELF!...(Moonlit Ebony I'm still waaaaaaiting!)**

**Thanks a million for reading.**

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**Hurt**

When I got back to our new hideout I went directly to Amelia, to wake her up, telling her that we had to travel farther away before it was too hot.

When I approached Amelia, I shook her softly, whispering for her to get up.

"Amelia, _wake up_." I hissed for the fifth time.

But she _wouldn't _wake up.

My heart began to thump hard and fast as my breath began to take speed.

I shook her roughly, almost banging her against the ground to wake her up, but once again I came up with no result.

I began to panic.

I looked at her face to see that it was pale. As pale as a white sheet of paper.

I brang my ear down to her heart to hear that it was still thumping, very quietly.

I took a deep breath and stared at Amelia.

"I'm not leaving you." I whispered.

I took Amelia out of the sleeping bag, and stuffed the sleeping bag inside the backpack.

I sat Amelia down by a rock, and went to go fetch the pail of water that we had melted.

When I found it, it was half ice, half water.

Soon it would melt, since the temperature changes rapidly.

I tied the pail onto the backpack and picked up Amelia, hoisting her into my arms.

_She's too heavy. I can't continue carrying this much weight_. I thought.

I laid her back down on the rock and sat down beside her.

"Don't give uuuuuup." The blue bird chirped from my shoulder.

I held out my finger for the bird to land on, and just as it did I stared at it.

"I don't know what to do. Amelia's dying and the worst part is, is that I don't even know _why_. I mean, why not just stab her or shoot her?" I mumbled looking down at my baby sister.

"Diseeeeease." It soothed.

I put my wrist to her forehead to see that she was boiling…just like seven years ago.

I shook my head as tears began to fall.

"I won't leave her this time. I'll _help _her." I hissed to myself.

I pushed her bangs aside and caressed her cheek.

I looked at the bird, who sat patiently on my finger, watching my gesture.

"I'm going to call you Wocky, okay?"

"Wocky, I need you to go to Zaynn and tell him I'm in trouble. Tell him that Amelia is sick and she's on the verge of dying. Go, _now_!" I commanded.

And just like that the bird flew and it was _fast_, faster then any bird I've ever seen.

The sun began to rise which meant it was getting hotter by the second.

I stood up and went beside a tree, ripping off a huge piece of bark, which was bigger then Amelia.

I kept ripping off bark at the same length and width, piling it up until I had enough.

I went over to a tree which was close to another one and dragged over the bark when I heard a groan.

It was coming from Amelia.

I raced over to her side and put my palm to her forehead, checking her temperature, which was the exact same.

All the sudden I was being pulled into the past, with me beside my sister.

"Don't leave me, Penelope." She said, holding onto my hand.

"I won't, Amelia, don't be silly." I chuckled, giving her some herbal tea which I had made myself.

"Do you promise me, Penelope?" She sulked.

"Yes, Amelia, now get some rest." I said smiling.

"I love you." She said as she drifted off to sleep, snuggling into my father's chest.

But that was before anything had become serious. She didn't even have a fever at the time, only a pair of cold feet.

Then I heard the groan again and I was back into the present with Amelia in my hands.

"Who did this to you?" I said, nearly shaking the answer out of her.

"Devil." She mumbled sleepy.

"_What do you mean devil_?" I asked shakily.

Her eyes began to close as she started to drift off into another soundless sleep.

"_NO, AMELIA!_" I nearly screamed it into the open.

I placed her down on the rock beside me and sat there, waiting for Wocky to reappear and when it did, it's wings you hardly flapping, only a little bit.

It was hurt.

I put out my hand as Wocky landed on it gently, saying nothing, except for a quiet whimper.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"There were peeeeeeeople." It cooed.

"People? What kind of people?" I said greedily.

"Enemiiiiiiiies"

"Did they hurt you?" I asked desperately.

"Not meeeee! Zaaaaaaaaynn"

My mind began to race as my eyes went blurry.

"What happened? Did he send me any kind of message?" I choked.

The bird opened its' small beak and began to make a loud crashing sound, with snapping and yelling involved.

It was the sound of a beating.


	15. Fire

**Sorry it's taking me so long to post. I've got another story running on another site as well and it's very frustrating. **

**Once again, tell me what you think and if I do something you didn't like **_**or **_**liked C: **

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**Burn**

Maybe this was just meant to be the end for me, because I couldn't possibly race towards Zaynn and leave Amelia here all alone. I just couldn't.

I took in a big breath.

I had to choose between something.

I looked up towards the sky and hissed at it, hoping the hovercraft could come get me and send me away from this mess.

"_Will somebody please give me a hint of what I should do?_" I yelled, hoping Katniss would hear from the cameras.

I looked back down at Amelia, surprised to see a small bottle attached to a parachute.

I lifted the bottle and looked at it, only to see that a name was printed onto the label.

_Caius _

I looked up at the sky dumbfounded and then back at the bottle.

This wasn't meant for me.

I stopped dead center and listened. Listened for some kind of noise. And then I heard it.

Very quiet breathing which was coming somewhere behind me.

I swiftly slipped my hand into my pant pocket, grasping onto the handle of a knife.

I heard the breathing come out louder now, which meant he was getting closer.

I took out my knife and turned around to see a limping man was right behind me, his amber eyes glaring at me wile his leg was gushing out blood.

He had an axe.

I extended my arm and he did the same, mimicking me. I was getting ready to throw it when suddenly his eyes went blank and he started to lose his footing, at the same time the grip on his axe came loose as he fell towards the ground with a thump, swinging his arm in the process, which meant that the axe was slowly slicing the air and flew into my arm.

I fell on the ground at the same time as him, but the difference was that he was dead.

He had a hatchet sticking out of the back of his head, blood dripping everywhere.

I crawled backwards and put pressure onto my arm which made the pain more agonizing, but I knew that it would stop a little bit of the blood from escaping.

I looked up in front of me to see an old lady with a smile on her face. She had to be _at least _in her 60's. This must have been the women that Zaynn was telling me about before the Games began.

Usually an old ladies were nice and welcoming, but this one, I could tell wasn't, even if she tried to play it.

She had hardly any hair but the hair that she did have was bright hot red. Her eyes were so dark that they looked black with wrinkles underlining every feature on her face.

She looked like a devil, just like what Amelia had told me.

The old lady put out a hand, and inside them were little yellow beans.

She approached me with a bigger smile and shook her hand at me.

I knew what these beans were meant for. They did terrible things to your body. They could either make you so sick that it was fatal or they would make you paralyzed.

Blood was pouring from my right arm and it was making my hand slip.

Without thinking I snatched the bloody axe from the ground and threw it so hard that it whipped through the air and right into the old lady's forehead, immediately making her drop to the ground on top of Caius.

_**BAM, BAM**_

Once again it was the cannon, firing once. And of course, I've killed them.

I took a big breath and walked over to Amelia.

"I don't know what to do." I whispered as a tear dropped down my cheek.

I tore a piece of clothing from the old lady and wrapped it tightly before my wound.

"I can't carry you, not in this condition." I said, talking to myself.

"If only that _damn _Grandma didn't poison you with those beans."

I looked around and once again found no answers.

I went over to Amelia and hoisted her over my shoulder, her leg kicking me in my wound.

I walked for over an hour until I stopped by a cave. A cave that looked _exactly _like the one Peeta and Katniss shared.

I laid Amelia down on the ground as I laid out the sleeping ground for her to lay on, instead on the pointy rocks.

I rolled her onto it and just left her, rolling myself into a tight little ball; the smallest I could get.

I put the bottle in front of my eyes which were turning sleepy.

It had absolutely nothing written on it, just a plain white bottle.

I shook it softly and heard nothing, but it felt heavy, so something was inside of it.

I took of the cap to find a purple lotion inside the bottle.

I took in a deep breath, it smelt like rotten milk.

"You have no other option." I mumbled.

I took a bunch of the goo in my left hand and spread it lightly over my injured arm, covering the whole wound with the purple goo.

At first the pain was torture, I was actually considering to do suicide to get rid of the pain, but after half an hour the pain vanished and my wound went numb. Just-like-that.

My eyelids began to feel heavier, almost impossible to keep open.

_It's okay if I take a small little nap… _

And with that my eyes were closed and I was in the dark, dreaming.

When I woke up, I didn't wake up from the cold, I was woken up from the heat.

Heat that was literally burning my skin.

Fire was placed all around the cave, surrounding both me and Amelia.

_**BAM, BAM, BAM**_

The canon went off three times.

I jumped up on red alert looking for Amelia, who was still laid on top of the sleeping bag, unconscious from being poisoned from the beans.

I ran over to Amelia and held her in my arms, luckily my wound was still numb.

I picked her up and hoisted her, once again, over my numb shoulder, running away from the cave just to figure out that there was more fire outside of the cave.

There was fire _everywhere _throughout the _whole _forest, not just our cave.

There was fire on all the trees and all the rocks, which basically meant that this whole arena was on fire, except for the water and the desert.

They wanted to gather us.

_**BAM, BAM! **_

Two more people, killed by the fire.


	16. Disappear

**I know a lot of you guys might still be confused about the arena. **

**The arena is shaped in a circle, as usual, and there are three sections in it. The outside section is the forest (A.K.A. The woods), the middle is a desert (Complete sand, and is _extra _hot because it has no shade) and then last but not least we have the inside, which is water, plain old water. **

**So, It's sort of like a dart board, only it had three rings. Understand?**

**Anyways, tell me what you think and if/or you like it :D**

**P.S: I checked through all my chapters and counted, already we have 17 people killed throughout the arena! Which means (if I'm right) we have 9 people left in the arena. Not very many… **

**ONCE AGAIN!, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!**

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**Disappear**

_Fire, fire, fire_.

It was the only thing running in my mind. Repeating itself as the fire cracked louder in my ear as Amelia laid still on my shoulder.

I rushed back into the cave and slapped the back pack over Amelia's shoulder and shoved the purple lotion into my pocket, securing it to make sure it was almost impossible for it to go loose.

I went back outside the cave and kept still, watching the cave as it collapsed recklessly, flames going higher.

I sprinted out of reach of the fire, running higher into the forest, every second getting closer and closer to the desert as my mind kept repeating those words: _fire, fire, fire_. It reminded me of one thing in particular.

The explosion.

I brang my head back closer to Amelia, and even though she couldn't hear me I still whispered.

"Don't worry, I won't leave you."

I kept walking until a big figure approached from behind the tree, his figure big and buff.

I dropped Amelia on the ground and pulled out a knife pointing it towards the dark figure that was approaching me from behind a tree.

The figure came closer to me. His hair damp with sweat with a bow and arrow arched over his shoulder, pointing behind him. His hair a beautiful sandy blond with his crystal blue eyes shining underneath the sunlight.

I dropped my knife and ran up to him giving him a huge hug, hugging him tightly so he couldn't escape from my arms. I wanted us to stay like this forever.

"I was so scared Zaynn." I whispered with my head on his chest as he ran his fingers through my hair.

He placed his hands on my shoulders and backed me up, taking a long look at me then his eyes wondering off towards my arm where his jaw dropped.

Lightly he brushed his hand against it, and it zapped with agonizing pain as if it were on fire. I stumbled backwards as I made a quiet whimper.

I guess the lotion must've worn off.

"What happened?" He signalled towards my arm.

"No. We have no time for this. We have to go, Zaynn. Soon this whole forest will be on fire." I said as Zaynn walked over to Amelia shoving her over his shoulder.

"Be careful!" I barked.

The flames began to crack louder as they went up higher, almost making it impossible for us to see the cloudy sky.

It was boiling, I was literally damp with sweat, my whole body felt drenched in it.

"Where is everybody? Why aren't you with them?" I asked exhaustibly.

"They think I'm dead. Keep walking." He lectured, pushing me to go farther.

"That you're dead?" I repeated.

"Yes. Somebody threw a trident at me, so I fell to the ground to make sure it missed me, and it did. But as soon as I fell to the ground the canon went off. Obviously meant for somebody else, but it was sort of just perfect timing. Anyways, when the guys came over I faked dead. It worked too, especially with all the blood over my shirt." He said, putting his hand to his forehead, wiping off his sweat.

I nodded my head with reassurance as I copied his gesture.

The flames weren't also getting higher but they were getting closer. The ground was beginning to catch fire, with all the twigs laying around. We'd have to find that desert soon.

"Zaynn, we have to get to that desert immediately. The fire is getting dangerous. There's too much smoke." I nearly yelled over the crackling of the fire.

"We're here." He said with a panicked look on his face. "Listen to me, Penelope. This part is very dangerous." He said, looking at a wall of fire right in front of him. "We have to jump through the fire." He said seriously.

"Are you _serious_?!" I asked bewildered as I starred into the blazing hot fire in front of my eyes, the smoke making my eyes sting.

"I'll go first." He said, his features looking all confused.

He took off his shirt and placed it over both his and Amelia's face, making sure they wouldn't breath in too much smoke.

I sucked in one big breath of air and gave me one wink as he jumped through the fire.

I pulled up my shirt so it covered my mouth and quickly jumped through the fire, landing on the other side with a thump.

I jumped up instantly and looked around me to see that Zaynn was right in front of me giving me a huge smile as he held Amelia in his arms like a baby.

"Didn't feel anything did you?" He said throwing in a chuckle.

I stood there in the sand as I looked at the fire wall which was dividing the two sections apart from each other; desert and forest.

We were now in the desert.

I took in a big breath of the clean air around me but still my stomach felt unsettled.

Something was wrong. It was more dangerous here then in the forest.

Suddenly rain began to poor down; _hard_.

_This is all to weird. Fire and now water?_ I thought bizarrely.

I turned around to look at Zaynn but he had disappeared…with Amelia.


	17. Alone

**I know, I've been taking forever to update it's just that I have two other stories going on, on another site and it's quite frustrating. I'm also behind because usually after a few chapters I begin to get bored of my story, I might start rushing through the story, and if I do **_**please **_**tell me, and I'll try my best to slow down. **

**I'm also starting to run out of ideas, so I'd really like it if you guys would give me a few suggestions, that would be awesome!**

**(Remember we started out with 26 tributes, not 24. So 26-17=9.)**

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**Alone**

My mind was racing, the faces of Zaynn and Amelia, sticking on my mind.

I stood still dumbfounded as I thought where they could've gone, but I was stupid to stand there un shielded.

Instantly three people came up from behind me, tying my hands up from behind me and hoisting me up, all three of them grasping onto my arms and ankles.

They started to walk forward, where I could see Amelia and Zaynn were each being carried by three men. Zaynn was fighting fiercely but Amelia was calm and quiet as three girls carried her. Zaynn was being carried by three _massive _boys, one of them being Egg Head.

I myself was completely frozen; numb. I couldn't move any body part if I tried.

I kept numb the entire ride.

*******

About an hour later the pack tied each of us against our backs.

My hands were tied against Amelia's and Zaynn's. One was tied with Amelia's the other tied with Zaynn's.

Our legs were the same. One was tied with Amelia's, the other with Zaynn's, along with our waists. One rope looped around all three of us, tying it tight so it was hard to breath.

Once we were all tied up they left. They left us being surrounded in the desert, the heat burning up our scalps.

I looked at Amelia and then at Zaynn, whose face was all beaten up from moving so much.

"They must have a plan. No idiot would keep there enemy tied alone." Zaynn accused.

"We aren't alone, we have one another." I announced, trying to squiggle out of the ropes. "And besides, they're probably keeping us here so we can starve." I mumbled.

"No, that would take too long." Zaynn muttered.

We both kept quiet as our minds coursed, trying to think of a plan to save our butts.

Then suddenly a thunder roared above us along with bolts of lightening.

If Amelia were awake she'd be whimpering. She hated thunder _plus _lightening.

Rain began to fall from the sky, coming down hard.

"At least we won't die of thirst…" I mumbled under my breath.

Zaynn's head bobbed towards the sky, as rain drops fell on his face, sliding down his cheeks.

"Oh _shit_." He cursed.

I looked at him with weary eyes.

"What?"

"I know what they're doing." Zaynn claimed.

The thunder roared again, with a lightening bolt following it.

"What? They're going to _drown _us? I asked sarcastically.

"Exactly." He said simply.

I looked at him in his crystal blue eyes, admiring all his features as I intertwined my fingers with his.

"And how are they going to do _that_?" I whispered calmly.

"The rain is going to flood the lake, which will over flood towards us. I'm surprised that the careers figured it out so early." He explained.

"_Shit_! How long do we have_?!_" I asked impatiently.

"With the rain pouring down so hard, I have got to say only a few hours. You can see the lake from here, it's only about an hour away, which doesn't give us much time." He said nervously.

"We need to get _out _of here. Do you have a knife?" I asked panicked.

"No, the Careers took my weapons, how about you?"

"I left them behind. I was too damn stupid to pick them up." I cursed. "This is where we're going to die."

Zaynn shook the rope and made me look him in the eyes, which were filled with determination.

"Do not let me hear you say that again. We are _not _going to die, nonetheless die _here_." He scowled. "Check Amelia, she probably has her knife."

I nodded my head as I stood still, slipping my hand, awkwardly, into her pocket, cutting my finger on something sharp.

A huge smile crossed my face as I pulled out a dagger.

"Now, cut the rope."

"I can't, my hand is placed too awkwardly." I argued.

The rain was coming down harder, and colder, that it stung.

At least the fire was burning out.

I held to knife by the blade and began to cut the rope just as my shoulder began to pain.

"I can't do this. My shoulder is acting up. You go first." I murmured.

I threw the knife on his lap, and he took it confidently, and began to cut the rope. But the problem was, was that the knife was dull and the rope was thick

I could, already, see that the lake was rising dramatically. The water was getting closer to us every second since the water was getting heavier.

An hour later and Zaynn had only cut himself out, there was still me and Amelia who had to be released.

The water was surrounding all three of us, it was up to our knees.

It was freezing.

It was night time, with heavy wind slapping our faces while rain drenched our clothing, making us even more cold.

I was scared. The most scared I've been in this entire arena. Mostly because Amelia was unconscious and she was in deep water. If the water gets too high she could drown without even noticing.

"Zaynn, h-hurry!" I said, my teeth clattering.

Zaynn's fingers were shivering intensely, his grip on the knife was loosening.

"Hold t-the handle t-tighter." I clattered.

He tried gripping the handle tighter but instead his grip became even more loose, losing the knife entirely, as it fell in the water.

Instantly I could see it dropped it the bottom with it's weight, weighing it down.

"Oh _shit_!" He barked into the open air.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins full on.

"Smart, very smart, good job." A voice said from a distance.

My head snapped around to see Egg Head was sitting in a tree with a big smile on his face holding a bow and arrow.


	18. She's Back

**This one is edited by my ONE AND ONLY BETA....._MOONLIT EBONY_! *Gives a round of applause*. She did an _EXCELLENT_ job, and I hope you guys agree with me (wintermoth) *nudge nudge*. Please tell me what you think, it'll mean so much to me _AND_ to Moonlit Ebony, isn't that right? Anyways, enjoy!**

**(We love you, Moonlit )**

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**She's Back**

From there, my mind slipped into slow motion, it wasn't letting me comprehend  
anything. Nothing seemed to make sense to me anymore, just the vague feeling that something needed to be done.

Was this hyperthermia?

In my internal battle with my brain, the arrow flying towards me through the air barely registered. When it did, it was right in front of me, travelling in a calculated arch towards my flesh.

I whipped up my hands up to block my face automatically, the ropes binding me to Amelia scratching painfully against my skin as I pulled.

I clenched my eyes shut, trying to brace myself for the sudden sting as the arrow pierced my skin, all the while growing colder as my teeth chattered intensely and my breath turned to mist in the frigid air. Only then did I realize that the arrow was not coming.

It had in fact disappeared and strayed from its original course. When I opened my eyes to see the stars already out and the ropes gone from my wrists the only thing I could do was stare at Zaynn, completely and utterly confused.

"The a-arrow cut through t-the rope," he just barely managed to stutter, his breath becoming fainter, making the puffs of warm air nearly impossible to see when they came out of his mouth.

The adrenaline was still running through my veins, constantly urging me to run before  
my muscles turn to jelly.

I did not know what to do, and Egg Head was still there. I honestly thought I could never hate him more than I already did, but I felt the rage rise up inside of me when I saw him laughing at us from the tree. I wish I could wipe that smug grin off his stupid face, and when I got out of this water, that was the first thing I wanted to do.

Amelia was still limp, seemingly dead to the world as she slumped against my side, nearly plunging into the freezing water whenever I moved. With a shiver I bent down, picking her small, fragile body up shakily - the cold had begun to take its effect on my muscle control, causing them to spasm. As I slung her gently over my left shoulder, the muscles in my right began throbbing in pain, all of a sudden seeming to stab me to my very core. It took all I had not to double over, but the thought of Amelia's dependence on me kept me steady. She deserved so much better than what this life had to offer, and I was going to do my part to help.

_"Ignore it, Penelope, get your sister safe," _my mother's voice commanded softly in my head, prodding me, telling me to go on.

I grasped Zaynn's fingers tightly, feeling his cold skin under mine as I stuttered desperately, "W-we h-have to s-swim."

Zaynn did not speak a single word, simply lifting Amelia onto his back, high above the threat of the rising water as it churned powerfully around us. Then, with a faint smile that was clearly meant to be encouraging, he swam through the water. I stood there on the platform, my legs feeling as if they had rooted into the ground as I watched him carefully make sure Amelia stayed above the waves and did not fall off.

I shook my head and took a quick, deep breath, then dove into the water after him. At first the shock of the icy water seemed to freeze me in one spot, making me panic for control of my limbs. _No! I will not die this way! _I thought, spreading my arms and kicking up to the surface.

My head popped through the top, water streaming down my face, into my eyes, but I just swam harder. Soon I caught up with Zaynn, then I was passing him, and before I knew it I was standing on solid ground and heading blindly to where I had spotted Egg Head.

"Penelope, don't!" Zaynn shouted behind me, sputtering as water went in his mouth. It was too late for warnings, though, because I was already charging, running purely on rage. I was seeing red, and I was after blood.

Luckily for Egg Head, he was gone without a trace when I reached the tree.

***

We got to the forest and by then everything had gone completely numb. Insanely numb even. It felt as if every part of my body - every muscle, joint, or piece of skin - was made of iron, weighing me down as I stumbled along. My will to live was still there, but it weakened as the cold became more unbearable, the strong wind pounding against me from every direction making the water freeze onto my body. Soon I would be nothing more than a walking icicle, with my clothes frozen to me and a horrible case of frostbite well on its way.

In my misery I thought of Katniss, the one person I knew I could count to draw inspiration from in this forsaken game. What would she do? What would she ask for? I asked myself the same questions repeatedly, trying to find an answer, but then forgetting the question as my mind began to slow down and lose its way. I found myself being distracted easier with the tiniest, unimportant things - things that had nothing to do with what was happening and yet I found incredibly intriguing.

I looked at Amelia, and pressed a finger under her jaw, feeling a fading pulse, hardly moving at all under her smooth skin. Skin that I now realized was turning slightly blue as the water turned to ice, clinging to her hair and her skin.

I stared helplessly into the starry sky, the rich blues seeming infinite as my eyes stung with the cold and tears appeared in my eyes, turning to icy trails as they spilled onto my cheeks. "P-please…h-help," I tried to announce, stumbling clumsily over the words as emotion washed over me. I wanted to make sure they understood, there was no way I was taking chances with Amelia on the line. Trying to clarify, I pointed an unsteady finger at Amelia as the shook roughly in the cold, then up into the sky, where I knew the crowd would be watching. "Please!"

A loud yell thundered from beside me, screaming, "SHE NEEDS MEDICINE, GOD DAMNIT!"

My eyes flickered tiredly to Zaynn, his fists raised high in the air in outrage, anger contorting his face into a massive scowl as he kicked the ground in frustration and shook his fists. This was the first time I had witnessed him losing control. He was always the calm  
one, and was patient, teasing, and nice. Right now he was the opposite, the roles changing almost in the blink of an eye.

A minute later his fists were still shaking, but this time I wondered if that had anything to do with the chill increasing quickly every second. I looked at him intently, grabbing his face in my hands and staring worriedly into his eyes, but instead of reacting at all he just shrugged me away, giving me his back.

I gently placed my shaking fingers on his shoulder, trying to tug him towards  
me, and when I did, I saw something for the first time.

Tears.

This whole time I thought that I was the only one crying. People automatically  
think that the Hunger Games are purely physical, but they obviously don not understand. Not at all. The Hunger Games is just as emotional. The last few Games had been revolving around emotions - almost advertising them. Love blossoms in a lot of them, and it's terrifying because there has only been one time where a couple have been able to live.

Peeta and Katniss.

Zaynn gazed cautiously at me, embarrassed at his tears but not bothering to wipe  
them away. He stared at the ground and continued to sob, his shoulders shaking fiercely as the tears flowed down his face, freezing into a hard mask of ice instantly. I could not stand to watch him, and something inside me seemed to break as I wrapped my stiff arms around him, needing the comfort as much as he did. There we stood as two lost souls, crying into each other's shoulders as we both tried to help the other make it through.

"It'll work out." I promised, playing with his hair to try to make him  
more comfortable. I was not just trying to convince him, but me as well, even though I knew perfectly well that things almost never did work out.

My fingers weaved into his hair, franticly trying to keep my focus off of everything that could go wrong in this world. I was so caught up in my tangled fingers that the small box escaped my notice when it fell to the ground in a small silver parachute. Zaynn set it in my hand gently, without a sound.

The box was long and skinny, and the thought that this one white box held the cure for our worst problem was almost laughable. I had no need to look at Amelia's name scrawled quickly across the top. I knew it was for her.

Zaynn's hands were still shaking, the movement becoming more intense as time flew by.  
I gripped the box tightly and ripped off the parachute, throwing of the top lid off of  
the box to reveal a single needle, nestled carefully in foam.

"You have to do it nooooooooow or neveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer."

Wocky appeared from behind Zaynn, landing on the needle with his widened eyes looking  
at both Zaynn and I expectantly.

"She neeeeeeeeds it nooooooooow," he rushed, his voice screeching.

I picked up the needle, my fingers wrapping around the handle nervously as I  
carried it over to Amelia, kneeling clumsily beside her.

Zaynn was on Amelia's other side, pushing her hair away from her face and neck, "I a-agree with W-Wocky," he stated. "I think w-we should do it n-now, b-before it's t-too late."

I nodded minutely, my lips pressed in a tight line as I bit them. I felt my stomach turn in flips and knots, the butterflies going crazy as I brought the needle to Amelia's neck.

_"Steady,"_ I thought, piercing her skin.

The taste of copper swirled around my mouth as I bit my lip harder, this time drawing blood.

I pulled the needle out quickly and dropped it to the ground, my eyes never wavering from Amelia's ghostly pallor.

Agonizingly slowly, Amelia's eyes opened, her eyelids fluttering. A small moan escaped her chapped lips and warmth flooded my heart as I saw a smile spread across Amelia's face, giving me an almost imperceptible wink.


	19. Knowing

**I want a vote. Right now, I want people to review and tell me who they'd rather die, Zaynn or Amelia?**

**It doesn't mean that I'm going to kill both of them, but it doesn't mean that I'm going to keep both of them, either. You guys will have to continue to read, and see for yourself, of what will happen.**

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****Knowing**

When I woke up I could already feel the blazing sun burning my skin, the brilliant sun hurting my eyes as I peeked at what the day had brought. We were alive, but we had just barely made it through.

I kissed Amelia and Zaynn each on the cheek, waking them softly with a gentle shake. I still could not believe we had managed to fall asleep.

"We've got to get a move on, the Careers might find us if we stay in one spot long enough," I announced in a low voice. They both looked at me with tired, bleary eyes, but the mention of the Careers got them moving.

Slowly, Amelia stood up, stretching her legs carefully as she smiled to herself and said, "I'm glad I can move my legs again."

"It's been a while," I agreed, smiling weakly and scanning our surroundings for the other tributes. Nothing.

Amelia turned her gaze away from her legs and gave me a sympathizing look. "I want to say thank-you, Penelope," she started, walking towards me and taking my hand, "for taking care of me all this time. Especially with a wound . . . . like that."

Amelia stared at my shoulder, where the wound was caked with dried blood, the edges of the gash; black with it. I had set it out of my mind, but the reminder of it sent the pain back at me in a gigantic wave, the sudden slap of feeling in my shoulder almost sending me to my knees. It was getting worse.

I tried not to let my discomfort show as I reached into my pocket for the purple lotion, but it was nowhere to be found and the pain started to grow._ 'It must have fallen into the water,_' I thought, grimacing. With that, I took a deep breath, steadying myself as we trekked through the forest.

I saw Zaynn stop walking ahead of me, he was leaning against a tree, glad for the rest. The pain was starting to make me a little lightheaded.

"You know, nothing's going to happen if we don't do anything," he said, gritting his teeth as he punched a tree halfheartedly.

Wocky flew down and landed lightly on his shoulder, screeching, "Stooooop! Save your streeeeeength!"

"What do you want to do?" Amelia asked eagerly, making me scowl. She should not be so glad to fight.

"Well, I want to get everything over with. I want us to win this thing, once and for all," Zaynn answered, almost growling as he said it. "I want to stop having to worry about being killed in my sleep every night."

"So, you're saying you want us to kill the Careers. Right now?" I tried to clarify.

Zaynn stared over at Amelia and I, then nodded grimly. "That's _exactly_ what I mean."

Amelia shook her head as she searched the trees around us. "How are we supposed to do that?" she asked. "We have nothing to fight with, and we know for a fact that they have weapons."

"And, we don't know where they are," I pointed out. "They could be anywhere."

Zaynn flashed a huge smile and then nodded towards Wocky, cocking his head to his side. "I have a feeling _he _might know."

He started walking again, this time in a different direction than before. "The weapons are probably still where they hid them," he added, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You have weapons? What kind?" Amelia asked, following behind him.

"We had _tons_. Everybody put all of their weapons in a stash inside a tree, close to the campfire," he explained, whipping his head from side to side and checking for the Careers.

Suddenly we were there, standing in front of our old fire, which contained fresh wood. I looked at the ground to see footprints marking it, which looked extremely new.

"Um, Zaynn I don't think it's safe to be-"

"I thought you guys would come back," Egg Head interrupted, startling us all.

He stood alone, leaning on a tree right across from us. The tree that contained all of the weapons.

"You can go ahead and look but, I doubt that you'll find anything," he smirked. "Because we just cleared it."

I saw that the bow was stilled slung across his shoulder, the arrows strapped to his back if he needed them. _'Oh, crap,'_ I thought, just as my stomach growled rather loudly. My tongue scraped around my mouth, the skin like sandpaper.

"You can't even feed your little girlfriend?" He said in an annoying high voice, walking cockily toward us.

"What do you want?" Zaynn sneered, his nostrils flaring as he glared at Egg Head.

He put a finger to his lips, pretending to think. "Well, I want to kill you all, obviously," he started, then stared angrily at Amelia. "But first I want _her_."

"Why me?" Amelia snarled, stepping farther away from him so I could wrap her in my arms.

"You don't remember?" he asked, taking two more steps, coming closer to Amelia. "Look at me - look at me _real hard_. Recognize me?"

I could see Amelia's stance weaken as her mouth formed an O, her hand swinging up to cover her mouth as she gasped, "Demetrio?"

He threw his head up and laughed, showing all of his white teeth in a greedy smile.

"You got it," he said, his face now serious as he stepped even closer. By now his hand was close enough to reach out and touch me, and Amelia started to shake in my arms.

He was now right in front of Amelia, lifting his hand up to brush her cheek, but she flinched backwards, as if she was hurt.

I stepped forwards as she stepped back, hiding behind me as I clung to one of her hands. "What did you do?" I asked angrily, my voice getting louder with each word as I tried to burn holes through his head.

"Is somebody going to tell me what's going on here?" Zaynn barked, coming closer to me, forming a wall in front of Amelia.

I nodded my head in agreement, waiting for somebody to explain.

"Five years ago, a little girl who was nine years old, her red hair shining bright, bumped into me. She was in the woods, of district 12. It's forbidden to be there, as you would know," Egg head started, all the while looking at Amelia as he spoke.

"She complained that she was starving; that she hadn't eaten in _days_, so I led her back to my house. I was twelve, so I was smart enough not to show her to my parents, and I snuck her into my bedroom as I brought her food, and gave her shelter for one whole _week,_" he turned his gaze away from Amelia and back to me, returning my glare.

"I began falling for her; developing feelings for a girl who was _three years _younger then me. So when I woke up one morning to find she had left, I was heart-broken - almost to the point of anger. She left without a reason, so I ran back into the forbidden woods of District 12 to try and find her, only to get caught by Peacekeepers."

We all stared at him, wondering what we should believe.

"_That is not true," _Amelia screamed, pushing away from me so she was yelling right in Demitrio's face.

"_You _hurt _me,_" she hissed, not hiding any of the venom in her voice.

Anger started to boil in my skin, I was ready to explode at Demetrio at any second. What had he _done_?

"How did he hurt you, Amelia?" Zaynn growled, pulling her away from Egg Head and standing protectively beside her.

Amelia's anger flooded out of her, suddenly slumping against Zaynn as she held my hand desperately, squeezing it tight.

"He raped me."


	20. Surprise?

**Ugh….I have a killer headache, and I'm being extremely stupid by facing this computer because it's so damn bright. **

**Once again I want to give a round of an applause to my -greatly appreciated- BETA!!! (MOONLIT EBONY!) **

**Tell me what you guy think, okay? **

**(Sorry it took so long to post!!)**

* * *

**Surprise?**

Anger flooded my veins as Amelia's eyes went misty. Once again I was seeing red, and fortunately for me, Egg Head was not lucky enough to already be gone.

"_You sick bastard!_" I screamed, my voice sending the birds screeching from the nearby trees in one giant, moving cloud.

I lunged towards Egg Head with my bare hands, not bothering to think about what I was doing as my fingers curled themselves into claws. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, I was pinned against the ground, Egg Head's rough hand grasping my neck aggressively and cutting off my air ways. I tried to gasp for air, but his grip was so tight that I could not manage a single breath.

I began to feel faint, everything else in the world seeming to drift away as if it was all a dream. I was so lightheaded that I barely registered Zaynn's body leaping through the air to attack Egg Head.

"Get _off _me," Egg Head yelped. His hand shifted slightly on my neck, allowing me a slight, uneven breath.

He untangled his hands from my throat and jumped onto Zaynn, collecting the bow and arrow from his back in one fluid motion. I tried to follow what they were doing, but my vision was still swarming with colourful dots as I regulated my breathing.

I laid still as Amelia rushed over to me, her hand fluttering cautiously over my throat as she tried to see if there were any injuries. I wriggled out of her arms, scrambling on clumsy, wobbly legs to get beside Zaynn. I had to help, even if I had no idea how.

Egg Head was now sitting on top of Zaynn, his bow pointed directly at his throat. I gulped nervously as I registered the point of the arrow digging slightly into his skin.

I froze, knowing if I moved he would kill Zaynn without a doubt, not bothered at all that he had happily executed my only best friend. I felt the heat rise as it enveloped us all, sweat starting to break out on my neck as I watched in dismay. My eyes widened in horror, because not only were we nearly helpless, but we were completely and utterly screwed if Zaynn were to die. Egg Head would come after us anyways, just as he was already making a habit of. Then what would we do? He had a whole group, we had just us two, clinging desperately to each other for support.

Memories of District Thirteen raced through my head, the images speeding by as if on replay. Over and over and over. I could not let another person I loved die. Not in this barbaric game or anywhere else, so long as I could help it. I blinked against the sun, clearing my thoughts enough so I could plan.

I straightened my back and clenched my hands into fists, preparing myself to lunge at him once again, only this time he would not end up on top. I would. I was just stepping forward to do so, when something came flying through the air, whizzing past my ear so close I could feel the breeze from it as it went by. I watched, stunned, as it planted itself deep in Egg Head's leg, forcing him to drop to the ground almost instantly.

His hands went to his wound in shock, before he gathered himself once more and began to limp away - an awkward attempt to flee the scene. His 'freedom' lasted only seconds, as another trident came flying past me, this time planting itself into his neck, blood seeping out in rivulets down his skin. All that was left of his life was the sound of his last breath as he fell to the forest floor, choking on his own blood.

_**BAM.**_

The canon went off.

I peered over at Zaynn in confusion, only to be met by an identical stare as he wiped sweat from his brow and rubbed his throat. Neither of us had a clue.

I turned to see Amelia staring in front of her at Egg Head, her jaw dropped as she gaped. I put a hand on her shoulder and said quickly, "Amelia, we really have to go. The people-the people who just killed Eg- I mean _Demetrio_, might kill us, too if we don't start-"

I was cut off by Amelia as she choked out suddenly, "M-mom?"

I stared at her silently, wondering if the heat was starting to get to her, when I saw the silhouette standing at the edge of the forest, obscured by the shadow. I squinted against the bright sun, barely making out the woman, looking about in her early forties as she tucked the two remaining tridents into the belt of her lavender pants. "What-" I started to say, but then she stepped out into the sun, the light glinting almost painfully bright off her red hair. Hair exactly like ours.

My breath started to quicken as I my mind went reeling out of control. I had too many questions, most of which there was no time to answer. What happened? Why was she here? What had she done? Why was she here? Where was she? _Why was she here?_I asked myself that one question repeatedly, nearly forgetting all the others I had floating around in my head.

"This can't be possible. No, _no. _She can't _be here_!" I muttered to myself, too quiet for the others to hear. I kicked the ground frustratedly, causing a clump of grass to pull out of the ground. I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell as loud as I could until it all felt better. But it never would feel better, though, because my life just kept throwing things at me. Just when I thought it was all starting to get back to normal - or at least as normal as my life could ever be - then something happened to completely screw things up all over again.

Zaynn rubbed his head and got up, shaking himself off a bit as clods of dirt and leaves fell from his hair, sticking to his shirt until her swept them off. He turned towards the lady with bright red hair and just studied her. Slowly his eyes flickered back towards all three of us, finally making the distinction.

We were like triplets; completely a-like. Well, despite the obvious age difference, of course.

She ran toward us as she, too, made the connection, her hand dropping from where it had been perched readily on the shaft of one of the tridents. As she came sprinting toward us, two men appeared out of the forest behind her, seeming to melt out from the trees themselves. One of them was my father, thick glasses resting on his nose, the glass dirty with mud, leaves and twigs stuck in his dark hair.

When my mother pulled Amelia and I into a hug something felt awkward. It was not the tears coming from all of us, but the way my mother was gripping us. She was only using one hand.

I broke away after one final squeeze, my eyes raking over my mother. Then I saw it, and my eyes widened as thoughts came into my head once again.

She was missing an arm.

My hand fluttered up to my mouth as I made a loud gasp.

Suddenly those nasty words were coming back to mind: selfish, conceited, inconsiderate, shallow, arrogant, greedy, avaricious, narrow, mean, _everything. _

It was because of me that my mother had lost her arm. If only I had stayed, maybe she would still have her arm. None of us would be in this mess right now, we'd all be safe, living as a family. Just maybe. . . . .

My father enveloped everybody in a hug, even Zaynn and his father, who had only embraced in an awkward man hug. I rolled my eyes at them. _Guys._

"We're going to get through this thing, even if it is the last thing we do. We're in this as a family, even Zaynn and Nebulas," my father announced authoratively, tears running freely down his cheeks, "Zaynn's father."

It was the first time in my entire life that I had seen my father cry, even including the explosion. He had never cried. In that moment, I knew what I had known all along, even if I had never wanted to admit it, not even to myself. We were doomed. There was no way we were all getting out of this okay, and my father knew it too. He was the one with all the bravery and confidence - he always had been. Now all of that was gone.

"_Hello, tributes,_" a voice boomed throughout the arena. "_Each tribute has been awarded with one of their parents or guardians, which means they will now be participating in the 75__th__ Hunger Games. That now leads us with 16 tributes. Good-luck everybody._"

Anger was flaring all through-out me by now. I was going to get out of this arena alive, and I wasn't leaving without my family; including Zaynn and his father.


	21. Blood Feast

**The days have been growing better, which I am happy to announce.**

**I am extremely sorry that I haven't posted in a while, my friend needed my help constantly, which never left me any time to post this for YOU guys.**

**Anyways, please tell me what you think….please?**

* * *

**Blood Feast**

I sat on the ground, the sun blazing down from over the trees. Once again it was a brand new day, and as I looked around I could not decide whether that was good or bad. Beside me my mother gathered herself, as the rest were all still fast asleep. We still had not talked to each other alone, and I knew that there was a reason. I was afraid, ashamed, and embarrassed to have my failure and mistakes stuck in my face. I could not stand that I had put myself before her health, and that was why she was like what she was now.

I watched the three rabbits in front of me, focused only on cooking them until they weren't raw, hardly acknowledging my mother's presence. I could hear my mother mumble to herself as she tried to figure out something to say and I turned my head to look at her. I kept my eyes trained on her face, and eventually she stared right back.

"You know," she opened her mouth and hesitated for a while, but kept talking, "I've watched you throughout the whole Game, Penelope. It's been gruesome, and it killed me to watch you face others, without knowing what was going to happen next. But the truth is . . . is that I know your going to win."

I nodded my head as I flipped over the rabbit, making sure it got cooked thoroughly.

"You will too, we just have to stick together," I mumbled, collecting water from a stream, which was flowing right beside me and under the tree.

"Penelope, you and I both know that I'm not going to make it."

"Don't say that. We'll think of something, don't worry," I said firmly, looking into her eyes and showing determination for all of us.

"Take care of Amelia," she said. "Try your best to take her to the end."

"Don't _talk _about this, mom! We're all going to win, either you like it or _not_!"I stood up from where I was sitting and began walking deeper into the forest, having no weapons carried with me, only my thoughts which were tangled up in confusion.

I knew my mother was right. I'd soon have to face the end, but I simply wasn't ready yet. I couldn't let myself plan out other people's death. I wasn't that cruel.

The Capitol was cruel. They were the reason any of this even existed. Who would ever think about putting somebody's family members into a game like this? When you won the game you were supposed to be happy and go home to a family in live in fortune, but what happens when you don't have a family? And what if the reason for that was because you were forced to kill them?

Wocky flew onto my shoulder, pecking hard against my skin. I tried to bat him off with my hand but he just flew back, pecking harder each time. Finally I took time to look at the little bird which was now on my hand, realizing that a tiny piece of string was wrapped thickly around his beak.

I untied the string from around his beak, but before he could tell me the urgency I heard a scream, blasting through the silence and ringing in my ears. It was the one scream that always bounced around at the back of my mind.

It was my mothers'.

My mind wasn't set straight as I began running towards our site. My eyes blurry as my mind began to clutter, questions popping into my head about what could possibly be happening.

When I finally broke through the trees and into an open space, I found everybody. All except my dad and mom.

Six people gathered around us in a circle, every parent or guardian beside their son or daughter, everybody with at least one weapon.

It was six against six.

I continued to scan the open space around me, only to find dad curled up on the ground with my mom pressing her free hand against a huge wound in my father's stomach.

I could see that Zaynn, Nebulas and Amelia were all in a fighting stance as Zaynn approached me, handing me a bow with an arrow already notched and ready. Slowly I joined Zaynn, standing beside him as I continued to send my mother signs that she should get behind us, but she would not hold my gaze. She just stayed with my father, ignoring me.

Suddenly a large man lunged towards Zaynn, but Zaynn was quicker and leaped aside. The man lunged toward Zaynn with a knife aimed at his neck, Zaynn doing the same thing. I held my breath, watching to see which one would survive. The spear Zaynn held, plunged into the man's stomach, sending him falling to the ground with a loud thump. Zaynn pulled the spear out and joined the rest of our crew.

One down, five to go.

Instantly, different people were attacking random people.

Everybody was fending for themselves.

I tossed my mother, the almost-dead-man's knife, forcing her to get up from where she was and help battle, not only protecting her life, but also her husband's.

_**BAM **_

I could see my mother's eyes flicker towards my dad, knowing it wasn't him from the loud moan he let out.

A long trident came whipping through the air, missing my bad shoulder by a millimetre.

Adrenaline flooded though me as I slung an arrow through the heart of a tall blond.

_**BAM**_

She was down. I gave myself a quiet smirk as two other canons went off.

_**BAM, BAM **_

I pointed an arrow towards a man who was pointing his axe towards Nebulas, getting ready to slice Nebulas' head with one sudden movement.

I let go of my arrow, letting it slice through the air and right into the man's forehead. Once again, letting another man drop to the ground with a thud.

_**BAM**_

I turned around to look at my mom, who was hand-to-hand with another lady around her age.

I was just about to point one of my arrows at the lady until a knife got her right in her leg. Her grasp weak against my mother, she threw her knife down, only the knife landed directly in the middle of her stomach.

_**BAM**_

The lights go out in another person.

I turned around to search the area, only to find a young thirteen year old boy standing right behind me, his axe halfway up in the air.

I couldn't possibly hurt a boy so young. He reminded me of Amelia. His eyes were a bright emerald green, while his scrawny little arms tried to hold up the axe.

I shut my eyes tight and I got ready for my death.

_**THUMP**_

I opened my eyes, amazed to see the thirteen year laying flat on the ground, a knife cut right into his left eye.

_**BAM**_

My legs collapsed all of the sudden, as I counted the cannons in my head.

* * *

Wait…that couldn't be right. There was only six people on their team.

I got up and looked around, the smell of copper filling my nose. Blood soaked the ground, turning it red.

My eyes began to sting as I found the one man who could ever be known as my dad, lying on the ground, his eyes empty as they looked into the hot sun.

He was dead.


	22. In The Game

**I just realized, I don't think I've ever named Penelope's parents yet…*oops*. Their names are: Alaric (dad) and Parrish (mom) :)**

**I do realize that it's been a while since I've posted, and I'm terribly sorry...forgive me?**

**I'd like to bring some attention to my beta, whereas she has stuck by my side and has given me tips to where I need improvement. Thanks a million Ebony :)**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. :D**

**....Tell me what you think? *please?***

* * *

**In The Game **

All five of us sat around the fire, the flames rising high into the night sky, cracking loudly as we ate the soup our sponsors donated to us.

We all had winter jackets on, once again, thanks to our sponsors. We began to gain hope, surprised that we had so many who were by our side.

The last few nights grew warmer as the day grew even hotter. None of us said anything; we kept our comments to ourselves. The only ones who were actually talking in this group were Zaynn and I, as everybody remained silent after the death of our father.

"Ten tributes are left, including us, which means there are only four tributes that we're against," I announced.

Everybody nodded their heads in agreement, but nobody said anything. I looked at Zaynn who's eyes were already on mine. His eyes flickered towards everybody else and then quickly back towards me. He noticed that nobody was talking as well.

His eyes tore away from mine and he cleared his throat loudly, gaining attention.

"What's your guys' problems? We need to put our heads in the game. Nobody has said _anything _since Alaric died! It's time we start acting like a team!" he proclaimed, his voice ringing with authority.

My mothers jaw dropped, surprised that Zaynn came right out with what he had to say and how he had no emotion when he stated my fathers' death. I was a bit shocked, too.

"He's right, Mom. Nobody has spoken since. It's important to keep in contact," I agreed.

My sister took her eyes away from the orange soup in front of her and looked at our mother, her eyes slowly moving towards my own.

"They're right. We can't get his death in the way of our survival, even if he is our father," she explained before going back to eating her soup.

Nebulas nodded his head in agreement. "I never knew him well, but he seemed like a good guy. He always pushed his fears and made sure that you guys didn't see them. He wanted you guys to do well, I could see that."

My mother broke into tears, her sobs quiet against the loud cracks coming from the fire. Amelia pulled her into a hug, rocking her back and forth. My sister was taking on the roll of my mother, cradling the hurt.

_Just like I had done_, I thought, guilt stabbing my heart.

After a few minutes, my mother stopped crying and she tore away from Amelia to speak with Zaynn and I.

"So, what's the plan?"

A huge smile spread across my face. My mom had never changed, she was always the determined type. It's where I got my determination from.

"I say we finish up our soup and take a good night sleep, in the morning we'll eat the rest of our food. We're going in for the kill tomorrow." A smirk lined my face, but my mother's kept serious.

"How do we even know where the other tributes are?" she asked, concerned.

"The last four are most likely competing as allies. Our best bet is to get Wocky to go on lookout for them, while we sleep," Zaynn answered.

My mother just shook her head.

"One of us should take turns, throughout the night, to keep watch. You never know if they'll come looking for us during the night," Amelia said matter-of-factly.

Nebulas nodded his head then raised his hand, volunteering. "I'll go first. After around two hours we'll switch it up."

We all nodded in agreement then slipped into the two sleeping bags. Zaynn and I shared one and then mom and Amelia shared the other, while Nebulas sat on a tree stump, wearing both his and my jacket.

Zaynn tucked me into a hug and put his lips close by my ear. "Let it out," he whispered softly.

I looked at him with curious eyes.

"You must be sad. Your father just passed away."

I bit down on my lip.

"I was never really close to my father, I guess it hasn't really clicked in that he's really gone. I keep thinking that I can turn around and he'll be right there," I whispered back, laying my head against his shoulder.

Zaynn placed his hands around me and crushed me towards his chest.

"I love you Penelope."

I faded away into the darkness, and into my sweet dreams. All night, those words echoed around in my head.

***

_**BAM **_

The sound of the canon woke all of us up in a panic.

Zaynn was the first one out of his sleeping bag, a spear already in his grasp as he ran over to his father.

I tossed a trident towards my mother as I gave Amelia the knives, which left me with the bow and arrow, once again.

My eyes flickered towards Nebulas, though a part of me already knew what I would see.

He was dead, slumped against the ground in a limp pile.

My eyes quickly shifted towards the trees in front of me, and I saw the four men approach, sneers on their faces as they walked toward us.


	23. Game Over

** ...I'm so very terribly sorry. I feel horrible, I really do. I haven't wrote in FOREVER! It's because my computer broke down so I bought one from my aunt only to discover it had a massive virus on it, so I chucked it. Then, I saved up all my money and bought this lap top. As easy as that, huh?**

**Now, this is my second last chapter so I'd really appreciate some beautiful reviews from my beautiful readers! I know I might sound crazy but I really want to reach 100 reviews before the end of this fanfic. It would mean the world to me. **

**Before I go and post this I just want to thank to most awesomest beta ever...: MOONLIT EBONY! *YAAAAY* Without her this story would be absolutely nothing, nonetheless this chapter...**

**ANYWAYS, I HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

* * *

**Game Over**

_**BAM! **_

The cannon sounded again, but this time it seemed louder, more significant. This time it was the sound of the one cannon shot I would never, ever forget. The memory wouldn't ever fade, no matter how strongly I wished it would.

I fell to the ground without hesitation, blood splattered everywhere and my eyes already beginning to swell shut. I hardly noticed at the moment, though, because something much more important to me had just been taken away. Something I had only just gotten back was falling to the ground, and I was losing it again. Forever.

My mother was dead.

Caught with a trident in the middle of her back she spat blood from her mouth, losing her tough facade entirely in her final moments. I didn't even have time to catch her and see if she was alive, instead standing up to once again protect Amelia, just as I hoped I always could.

_**BAM!**_

I quickly looked around, retrieving my hand from my mother's cold, still face and scanning my surroundings. Was it Amelia? Was it Zaynn?

Who had the cannon been for?

I took my bow and arrow firmly into my grasp, never having held anything so tight. My knuckles immediately turned white, the bones showing through my clenched fist.

"PENELOPE!" Amelia and Zaynn yelled at the same time. "_WATCH OUT!_"

I ducked without hesitation but quickly jumped up and flung an arrow into the direction of a tall man, catching him square in the forehead. Only then did I allow myself a quick sigh of relief, knowing that at least the two I loved were still safe.

_**BAM! **_

There was no time to smirk when anger was the only thing flowing throughout my veins. I saw red not for the first time in this battle, and I knew that I would take down anything in my way, if only to keep everyone I cared about alive.

There was only one man left. He looked very familiar, but I couldn't quite place why. It was as if something was prodding at the back of my brain, yet not hard enough to trigger a memory. He had dark black hair which covered his forehead and a shadow of a beard starting to grow while his young face remained calm. As soon as he realized that all his partners were down he dropped his weapons and looked at the three of us. Sorrow filled his eyes.

"I never wanted to live like this - for the capital to do this to us . . . it destroys the humanity within us. If this is considered entertainment to them. . ." He stopped in mid-sentence, not able to continue. I heard the pain in his voice, the desperation plain in his eyes. "I want my mother to know that I love her. . . Make sure she knows. She lives within the 11th district, just like you. She's blind so stay strong - she can read somebody's emotions by the way the person talks."

Without another word, he bent down to the ground, picking up a discarded knife from the grass, blood caking the handle. He looked at it without fear or worry, his face completely still when he looked up at me, and me alone. Quickly he gave me a small, forced smile and I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of what he really felt. I saw inside him, if only for a moment.

"My name's Nicholas Connell, but they all call me Big Con." And with that he grasped onto the knife's handle harder and sank it into his flesh, blood instantly pouring from his wound as his fingers let go of the knife, already dripping with his own blood. There was blood everywhere; running down his chest, seeping through his clothes. A puddle of red pooled around his feet as he collapsed, spraying the collected liquid into the air with a sickening splash before the cannon fired.

_**BAM!**_

Realization finally hit me as I sat down, my fingers shaking as they finally let go of the bow and arrow. This was where we had to make the big decision. This was when we had to decide who lives and who dies.

I knelt down to the ground and picked up the knife that had just killed Nicholas Connell, pressing my thumb against the blade until it sliced through the skin - but I didn't feel it. I was too busy thinking, my mind enclosed to the rest of the world as I ran over thoughts in my head again and again.

This is where it all ends.

I stood up straight and looked at Zaynn and Amelia, both of them focusing intently on the knife I held. Their eyes never wavered from it, and I could feel them trying to figure out what I would do.

"I won't choose," I slurred, already moving the knife where I needed it.

The handle was warm in my hands as I slowly moved it closer and closer to my abdomen, Amelia and Zaynn springing up quickly and running toward me.

"_NO!_" Amelia cried as she snatched the knife away from me. "It's not going to happen this way. I won't let you die, and I won't let Zaynn either!"

"Amelia, you don't know what you're talking-" I started, but Amelia cut me off.

"I do, Penelope. Just hear me out." She looked at Zaynn and I intently. "I may sound like I've gone crazy but I've never been any happier to be anywhere but here and despite the fact that our parents are dead, I'm glad I got entered in this stupid game. Either way we were both going to die without seeing each other and our parents, but at least we both got to see them before we died. . . That's got to mean something, right?

"Listen - I know I'm young and you're probably thinking that I don't know what I'm talking about. But I _do! I really do!_Besides, If I end up living I have nothing to live for. I mean, I have nobody to love like you two do. The only people I ever loved were Mom, Dad and you - and either way, I'll never be able to see one of you guys again. It's over, Penelope. Reality has set in and it struck us hard, so what? Don't give up on Zaynn and Nicholas because of that."

She gazed down on the knife so hard her eyes filled with tears as her voice cracked. She ignored it and kept speaking.

"I loved them so much, Penelope, and I'm glad I've seen them but I also love you. That's why I have to do this. . ."

She didn't give me so much as a chance to hope, let alone stop her. Before I could react, she had already lunged the knife into her chest, blood spilling in torrents from around the blade.

I fell to the ground before she did, my heart thumping so loud I couldn't hear the canon or the voice booming around the arena telling everybody that we had won. Amelia's face became blank, her tears mixing with her blood.

But did I actually win? No.

The truth is . . . I lost. I lost three out of the four things I loved most and I will make sure that I _never _lose my forth love. If there is one thing in my life left that I can possibly keep from leaving, I will never have a doubt for what it is.

Zaynn. I will never stop fighting.


	24. Winnings

**So here it is, the end. I know I won't be able to reach 100, but maybe 90 reviews? **

**I'm sorry this story took a while to finish, and I'm really sad that I have to leave it. I never thought that I'd be able to get a story that received 200 hits every time I updated, it's crazy! Maybe it's thanks to my crazy beta, Moonlit Ebony? **

**Anyways, I hope you guys keep in touch with my stories. I usually write about the Hunger Games or the Night World series, I think I'll stick with the Hunger Games, although I think my next story will be based on the Outsiders, possibly.**

**I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE LAST CHAPTER! WOOT WOOT! **

* * *

**Finished**

The last thing I remember was collapsing to the ground to have my own body fall beside my sister's cold form, Zaynn desperately trying to pull me away, tears falling from his own eyes in streams. We had been a pitiful sight, both of us slumped near the ground, drowning beneath our own rivers of salt.

But not am I now? I thought to myself, a part of me knowing I probably didn't want to know the answer. My heart had seemed to turn to a black hole encased in my ribs, a blank spot of endless nothingness. Now it felt like no more than a lump of coal pitted deep in my chest, searing through me from the inside out.

I had lost nearly everything in few long days, and now I found myself wondering what I had left.

What could I live for?

Was there even a reason anymore?I got up from a white bed with my entire leg wrapped up in some bizarre white material that made the skin beneath it itch slightly. Instantly pictures began flashing to my head from the arena - grotesque, horrific truths reliving themselves before my eyes. Pictures of my mother, father and my poor sister, Amelia, all dying all over can't be a picture of Zaynn flew by in my brain, a picture of his warm skin with his cheeks flushed.

Amelia was right, she'd would've had nothing to live for if I wasn't alive. Maybe I did deserve to live. . . Just ! Don't think like that! I yelled to myself. No one had deserved to die. No . . . maybe Egg Head.

"Hey, you made it." I heard a soft voice say from the door, bursting my tiny bubble of depression.

I sat up from my bed to notice I had a pair of silk pyjamas on, the smooth fabric strange against my skin after the brashness of the Games. The figure had long black hair and was very petite against the doorframe, the starkness of the room made more apparent by her dark features.

"Katniss?" I asked, not quite believing me eyes after the battering.

"That's right," she answered calmly as she walked over to my bedside with the swift, predatory steps that had helped make her so famous.

"You won - aren't you happy?" As soon as she said those last words she regretted them visibly. You could see her beating herself for it as she winced, her eyes squinting briefly while she glanced away from me. Anywhere but my eyes.I held my tears back as I lied, the reply coming easier after all the surrounding treachery.

"Of course, I am." I gave her a brief smile, rising too quickly from my bed and nearly collapsing as my leg wobbled painfully from the weight. It had a while to go before it was healed, and it was all I could do to change the small scream to a sharp hiss.

"You had bad frost bite, they did surgery on your muscle because it went deep under the skin. The nurse said it should be fixed within a few days, in the meantime you're stuck like that." Katniss explained.

As I walked towards the door, Katniss stopped me. I looked at her with eyes filled with confusion.

"I want to warn you about what the publicity will do to you. It will completely destroy your emotions. It will change them so they can make you feel what they want you to feel, do you understand, Penelope?" She asked.

I shook my head no.

"They did it to me. Once you're out of this building they'll be flashes everywhere, questions being yelled at you. The key is to show no emotion. You can't cry, you can't be excited, you can't be depressed. Act neutral, even though you're crying on the inside."

She then twisted the doorknob for me and leaded me downstairs where a lunch was waiting for me. It had been the exact same place that I had been the night before I was thrown into the arena.

Everybody was clapping, and cheering although I didn't know a single person.

An Avox sat Katniss and I down at the table, and we ate silently together, not sharing another word while I stared at the poor Avox knowing how she was screaming on the inside and how she only wished she could talk and be a normal person, just like us… only I wasn't a normal person. Normal people don't kill others. Normal people don't watch their family die in front of them and do nothing about it. Normal does not describe me in anyway.

Daytime was gone and evening had struck. I was escorted into my bedroom by Katniss who was telling me how I couldn't see Zaynn until tomorrow morning when we both got placed onto the train and sent to district 11. But I couldn't wait until then I felt that I needed to go somewhere where I could think. Think about life.

Somewhere that I could feel free without cameras lurking everything I do.

Quietly, I snuck out of my bedroom and onto the rooftop of the building. Instantly, I had a flashback of the night before the arena. It was where Zaynn and I shared our first kiss.

"Penelope?"

I hardly had time to make his buff figure out before he had me in his arms.

"_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry_." He whispered repeatedly.

I had the urge to hide my emotions and tell him everything was okay, but I couldn't. He'd know that I was lying, so instead I collapsed, my emotions exposing myself. Once again my tears were falling.

"Why does it have to be like this? Why can I feel so hurt after I spent years without them? How should it be different?" I sobbed.

Zaynn's muscles tightened around my waist knowing that I wasn't capable to stand by myself.

"I miss Amelia so much. Why did she do that? We could've found a way so that she'd be alive with us."

Zaynn sat me down on the solid cement ground and me pulled right up against him as he pushed the hair out of my face and wiped the tears strolling down my cheek.

He started humming a soft song as I ranted on and on and he sat there listening to everything while I began to mumble myself to sleep.

I found myself waking up in Zaynn's bed on the train with him beside me. My eyes were aching from crying so much the night before.

I put my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat knowing that his blood was pulsing throughout his veins, thinking about anything that would get my mind off Amelia.

As I sat up beside Zaynn his eyes immediately opened as if they were on alert.

As he saw my eyes filled with confusion he relaxed, his muscles sinking back into the mattress.

"Ever since the arena I've been a light sleeper, especially with you beside me. I feel like I have to be awake 24/7." He answered.

_**Knock, Knock **_

"Come in." Zaynn welcomed.

Peeta then came in with a smile lined on his face.

"It's not what you think…" Zaynn murmured.

"We're arriving in five minutes so be ready." He announced as he shut the door behind him.

Peeta got out of the bed, leaving warmth amongst the blanket.

As he turned towards me, I was stunned by his body. His muscle were beautiful, although he had scars all over his arms and shoulders.

I got up from the bed having my nightgown on and walked over towards him, placing my hand over the scars.

"Don't worry about it. It's yours that we should be worrying about." He said.

I let go of his arm and took a look at my own. A deep wound went from my shoulder all the way down to my wrist. You could see the stitches sewed into my skin. It was an opened wound.

"How'd that happen?" I asked.

"I don't know, I don't recall anything slicing your arm like that. Are you okay though? They said that it shouldn't hurt until later and when it does you should receive some medication at our house. They already have everything we need placed there." He replied.

Swiftly he pulled me closer to him, my lips at his chin. As he looked down at me his eyes were soft. He then bent his head down and kissed me.

"I love you. You know that right?" He whispered.

"Of course I know. I love you too."

Once we were dressed the train halted to a stop. Zaynn took my hand in his as he pulled me in closer to him.

We walked towards the main doors to lead us outside with Peeta and Katniss on either side of us.

As the door pulled apart we were immediately seen by all the flashes, it was hectic. Questions were being screamed above the rest of the noise while cameras kept on flashing.

I turned towards Katniss and asked, "How does district 11 have all this technology?"

"Most of these people are from the capital. Since we didn't let anybody from the capital visit you guys they immediately came to district 11 knowing that they'd be able to see you." She explained.

As we pushed ourselves through the crowd answering questions on the go, Zaynn met up with his mother. They both kept it together as no tears were shed.

Zaynn turned towards me and introduced me to his mother. She gave me a huge welcoming hug telling us what had happened while we were gone, how she was sorry for my loss, how she missed her husband, what the house looked like, ect. But not once did she cry which amazed me. How could somebody be so strong seeing her own son on television and seeing him face death was beyond me. It made myself seem small.

Tears lightly strolled down my cheeks and as I turned around to hide myself I knocked down a lady, flashed instantly turned on me.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" I apologized, quickly wiping my eyes before I helped her up.

As I helped the women up I looked into her eyes. Her pupils were blank but she still looked me right in the eyes with sadness.

Instantly, I knew who she was. She looked she just like him too. She was Nicholas Connell's mother.

I felt like pulling away and hiding myself under a huge boulder. I'd rather be dead than tell somebody's mother that their child as received his death by a tragic game. But instead I stood up strong shoving my problems behind me. My only focus was on her.

"I'm sorr-." I began to apologize but she cut me to it.

"It's okay…really. At least somebody from district 11 won, right?" Tears began to fall from her eyes as my heart broke in two.

I was surprised how she knew who I was considering she couldn't see me.

"This is hard for me to say, but he almost won. I'm not sure if you've been listening but he was the forth last one to survive. He went a long way, you should be proud-" My voice cracked as tears strolled down my eyes. Instantly all cameras were on me, but I remained talking to the mother of Nicholas. "He wanted me to tell you that he loves you. He really does. I could see the love that he had for you, it was amazing. I'm sorry that it wasn't him to win and I hope you believe me."

"You're strong, I can feel it. I don't know how you've stayed to stable. You're left alone without family. I give you my greats sincerities and hope that you can build yourself up even stronger. District 11 is very proud to have you living, as am I."

I took her hand in mine and said every softly, "You're son didn't deserve this, I'm sorry for his death." And as I let go of her hand and walked away Wocky appeared on my shoulder with a small piece of paper in his mouth.

As I opened the paper small curly font was stained onto the paper in ink.

"_Dear Penelope, _

_As I'm getting ready to enter the Games I've ordered the Capital to send a letter to you although I have the slightest feeling that they won't whereas they think I won't live. But I know I will. I must win this so I can find you, wherever you are. _

_My greatest wish is to find you before I die, I must be able to see you're beautiful emerald green eyes and poppy red hair. I'm also very anxious to see my lively parents. Imagine how angry they'd be with me knowing that I ran away from home and ended up here. I'm not proud of myself, Penelope. In fact I'd be very embarrassed for any of my family to know that I'm Avox. Nonetheless for my family to see my death whereas I hope that will never happen. _

_I never want you to see my blood being spilled, it's not supposed to work that way, right? You've cared for me for years but when you ran away I understand why you did. _

_You were scared and I know that. I don't judge you in any way. I'm so very glad to tell you that I recovered very quickly after you left and I took your place to care for Mom and Dad. After they were healthy again I left on the search to find you only to end up without a tongue and sucking food out of a tube. _

_Listen, if I don't succeed to find you I want you to know that I love you and I hope that if I die that I at least got pretty far in the Game. _

_I love you, Penelope. I love everything about you and hope so very much that you live a very long life. _

_I'd kill for you any day,_

_Amelia." _

Suddenly it didn't matter if cameras saw my tears. I couldn't hold them anymore. Knowing that I saw Amelia meant the world to me as well and after reading this I wanted to see her even more than ever and I wish that she could be standing here in my place walking away with no worries.

She's a good person and she never deserved to die, but she did. And as for that I must not throw away my life. I must keep it glowing just for Amelia.

* * *

**There it is. The end of this story, hopefully I'll receive some wonderful reviews? **

**I'm sorry this chapter didn't come out before August, I was away on vacation and guess what? No computer. My grandfather had to pay for his enternet every time I went on it which meant I couldn't edit or upload this chapter. But at least I uploaded this before the third Hunger Games came out. Anybody excited?**


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